Should Saquon Barkley play in the Eagles’ regular-season finale?
Some former Eagles believe Barkley should play while others think the Birds should be cautious.
Saquon Barkley is just 101 rushing yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 yards. The Eagles have one game remaining in the regular season. Their opponent is the New York Giants, one of the NFL’s worst teams at defending the run — and the team that let Barkley walk last offseason.
But the Birds are locked in as the second seed in the NFC and have nothing to play for in the final week. Barkley will be key for the Eagles in the playoffs. Is it worth the risk?
Barkley is leaving the decision up to coach Nick Sirianni, who’s still thinking over his plan.
“Still not there,” Sirianni said Monday. “I gave the players off today. They’ll be back in a couple days. By the next time I talk to [the media], they’ll be back in. I’ll always inform them before I inform anybody else.”
» READ MORE: Saquon Barkley shouldn’t chase the rushing record; Eagles say they need rest; Lions, Vikings play for No. 1 seed
Dickerson told the Los Angeles Times that he doesn’t think Barkley will break his record and that he doesn’t want him to, which caught the attention of some in the Eagles locker room.
“I would love for him to have the record, but of course, we need him for way bigger things than the record,” cornerback Darius Slay said after the game. “But I would love for him to have the record — especially after what Dickerson said. That was not cool.”
LeSean McCoy, who formerly held the Eagles' single-season rushing record, said Monday that he wants to see Barkley get the opportunity to go for it, especially against the Giants.
“God doesn’t make mistakes,” McCoy said on FS1. “The team that let me go, the GM that signed off on that, the place that drafted me said I wasn’t good enough to stay. You’d rather keep Daniel Jones than keep me. I get to break the record on y’all?”
A former Eagles linebacker, 94.1 WIP host Ike Reese, agreed.
“You want me to believe the football gods have brought us this far for a guy who has been nothing but an upstanding model citizen, a great teammate, a great friend wherever he’s been — bring him to this threshold, and somehow injure him?” Reese said Monday on the radio. “I don’t believe that.”
Fellow former Eagle and WIP host Seth Joyner said he believes most of the starters will play — including Jalen Hurts, who missed Sunday’s game in concussion protocol.
“Athletes don’t have that kind of mentality,” Joyner said. “Nobody in that locker room is talking about, ‘Oh I’ve got to keep myself healthy. Oh, I need rest.’ I’m playing him. If Jalen Hurts is available this week, he’s playing.”
Tackle Lane Johnson said postgame that at 34, the extra week of rest “means a lot,” and receiver A.J. Brown said he also was hoping to “rest up” in Week 18 for the playoffs.
Former Eagles defensive end Chris Long was more hesitant about Barkley playing for the record.
“I’m not saying the record is nothing, the record’s a big deal,” Long said on his podcast. “Just be careful. Some people are going to call me a party pooper, but the guy stubs his toe in the second quarter next week, and it’s like, ‘What are we doing?’ Be careful. If he doesn’t have 70 by the midway point of the first quarter — it would be poetic to break the rushing record against his old team, like out of a movie. It’s everything the Eagles organization loves, the flash, the flair, let’s kick the door in, but be careful. This guy, he’ll take you where you want to go, but you need him.”
Joe Banner, former Eagles team president, also expressed his doubts that the Birds would let Barkley play in Week 18.
The final decision is still a few days away, and will certainly be discussed well past that point, but Barkley said Sunday that he’s not going to overthink it.
“The way I look at it is, if it’s in God’s plan then it is,” Barkley said. “I’m not overly trying to go get it. I’m not scared of it. I would love to, but at the end of the day, we’ve got bigger things that we’re focusing on. I didn’t come here and sign here just to rush for 2,000 and break a record. I want to do something special, meaning special with the team.”