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Saquon Barkley played such a key role in the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl Championship season, and the narrative emerged with a narrative about the position of running.
Barkley suggested in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated that talking about the revival suggests that it is not the lack of talented defenders in recent years, but the team is reluctant to part with large contracts, resulting in compensation from elite sprinters.
The three-time professional bowler said he believes the tilt comes from a high-profile defender who is “three to four” and signed a big deal and was subsequently injured.
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The Philadelphia Eagles ran back to Saquon Barkley during training camp at the Novacare complex in Philadelphia on July 24, 2025. (Kyle Ross/Imagn image)
Barkley called the depreciation of the run a narrative designed to lower wages.
“(It's not for my distillery,” Barkley told the media. “It's something they're trying to make up for, just to make the players cheaper. If you're arguing about running, you can do that for any position in the NFL.”
“Now, you have owners and general managers trying to find good players at cheaper value,” Barkley said. “That's everything. I'm tagged. Josh Jacobs is tagged as the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I'm not going to sit here and talk about collusion. I'm not going to participate in all of this. But football is football. If you can't run the ball, it's done.”
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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) ran to Seyfs to run back to Saquin Barkley (26) in the preseason against the Cincinnati Bengals on August 7, 2025 in the preseason against the Cincinnati Bengals in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slokham)
Barkley notes that teams often sign large contracts when they enter their 30s, and if these players perform poorly, it doesn’t have that much discussion when hitting the pro stage after running.
“That (the past) concept is so interesting,” Barkley said. “It's the berth, all the rewind positions – exhausted stuff. You get a wide range of recipients [teams] Pay all this money, and when they go into their 30s, they don't perform the best; you'll never hear it. How many quarterbacks can you say play in their late 30s? No one is Tom Brady. They have to let go. ”
Last season, the 28-year-old was one of the best sprint seasons in NFL history.
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The Philadelphia Eagles won the win with the Cincinnati Bengals on August 7, 2025 in the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (Eric Hartline/Imagn image)
In 16 games – he sat in the 18th week before the playoffs – Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards with 13 touchdowns in 345 attempts, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. He leads the league with sprints, attempts and yards per game.
Barkley brought that dominance to the playoffs in the playoffs, rushing for 499 yards with five touchdowns in four playoff games, leading all the defenders in each category.
Barkley will seek to lead the Hawks to pursue another Super Bowl ring when he faces the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1.
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Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant at Fox News Digital.