The Philadelphia Eagles spent big bucks on an injury-prone player last offseason.
They knew that, despite his struggles, Saquon Barkley was a special kind of talent who could lead them to the next level.
That was the case, as he paid that money back right away with his electric performances, running away with Offensive Player of the Year honors and taking the team all the way to the Vince Lombardi trophy.
Barkley enters this season as the alpha dog at the position.
However, it seems like he doesn’t want to be on the field for much longer.
In a recent appearance on Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast, the former New York Giants star admitted that he could be inching closer to retirement:
“I’ll probably be one of those guys that [will announce retirement] out of nowhere. I’ll probably just wake up one day, whether it’s next year or two years or four years, and just be like, ‘Yeah, it’s over.’ I don’t think I will ever lose that passion. The competitive nature is always going to be there. My favorite player of all time is Barry Sanders, so probably similar to that. I’ll probably be balling and just be like, ‘Yeah, call it quits,’” Barkley said (Via Ari Meirov).
#Eagles RB Saquon Barkley says he could see himself retiring from the NFL out of nowhere:
“My favorite player of all time is Barry Sanders. Probably something similar to that. I’ll be balling and just be like, ‘Yeah,’ and call it quits.”
(🎥 @greenlight)pic.twitter.com/Fih4lv27DU
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 4, 2025
This isn’t anything new, as we’ve seen multiple players retire while they still had plenty left in the tank.
Barkley has made more than enough money in his career and is already a Super Bowl champion, so he might one day not have that same hunger and determination.
More importantly, there might come a day when he’s just not willing to withstand the physicality and wear and tear of being a professional football player, especially a running back.
Barkey has had to endure multiple injuries and a lot of pain to get to this point.
And while one would selfishly want him to play until the wheels fall off, he may have already earned the right to call it quits when he wants to.
