Eagles’ plan to manage Saquon Barkley’s workload involves limiting practice reps

Saquon Barkley’s instant value to the Eagles offense after one week probably can be measured in Joe Schoen memes.

For the crowd that isn’t quite as online, Barkley’s value was easy to see in the stat sheet from the Eagles’ season-opening, 34-29 victory over Green Bay in Brazil. Barkley, whom the Eagles signed away from the New York Giants to a three-year, $37.75 million deal in March, scored three touchdowns — two on the ground and another in the air — during a debut that featured 109 rushing yards and another 23 as a pass-catcher. It was a performance good enough to be named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Barkley steadied the offense, which had some blunders at times, and helped the Eagles seal the game with critical yards as time ticked off the clock on their final drive. It was that four-minute drill that turned into a seven-minute drill that increased Barkley’s touches on the night to 26, a total Barkley had reached just a dozen times in 74 games entering Friday night.

It was a large workload for the Eagles’ new bell cow, especially by their standards. Under Nick Sirianni, who was hired in 2021, the Eagles gave at least 26 touches to a running back just three times in three seasons: Miles Sanders reached the number once in 2021 and then again in 2022; and D’Andre Swift hit it once last season.

The Eagles, of course, haven’t had a back of Barkley’s caliber since LeSean McCoy in 2014, when Sirianni, 43, was coaching quarterbacks as a 33-year-old in San Diego.

» READ MORE: Marcus Hayes: Can Eagles star Saquon Barkley ever be mentioned with Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, & Emmitt Smith?

But the heavy workload in Week 1 was enough for Sirianni to be asked Monday about the team’s plan to limit Barkley’s usage to make sure he’s fresh when the Eagles need him most.

“You do everything you can do to win each football game, and so once the game is in the flow, you think about how you’re going to win that game,” Sirianni said.

Sirianni didn’t divulge specific plans about load management, but he did relay concepts of a plan involving practice reps.

“With Saquon having that many touches, we’ll have a plan for that this week in practice where we can take some of the load off him there,” he said. “Every game is so important in the NFL that it’s hard to say — and when he’s got a hot hand like that, too — to say, ‘Hey, you don’t want to keep giving him the ball.’ You’re trying to win every single game that you play.

“That’s our job as coaches to manage that throughout the week during practice.”

Games, Sirianni said, “will take care of themselves as they go.”

This one just required a bit more Barkley to put away.

» READ MORE: Saquon Barkley Show saves Eagles’ putrid defense and Jalen Hurts in the NFL’s Brazilian misadventure

It is, however, an important topic for the Eagles. Barkley, 27, has played just two full seasons since being drafted in 2018, that rookie season and again in 2022 (both of them resulting in Pro Bowl appearances). He has never touched the ball more than 22 times per game in a season, which he did in 2018 and 2022, when he accumulated 352 total combined rushes and receptions. It’s just one game, but if Barkley touches the ball 26 times per game over this 17-game season, he will have the ball in his hands 442 times.

That, objectively, is a lot. For reference, Christian McCaffrey had 339 touches in 16 games last season (21.2 per game). Again, it was just one game, and one that required the Eagles to run the ball down the stretch. You probably could safely take the “under” on Barkley touching it 400 times. But it’s worth paying attention to, especially if the Eagles feel the need to run the ball more if Jalen Hurts’ turnover issues persist.

“Obviously, I think Saquon is a premier player,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “We’ll be able to diversify it as we go. Week in and week out, we can adjust the game plans, and we’ll play different styles depending on how the opponent wants to play us, and he’ll provide us with that opportunity.”

» READ MORE: ‘Freak-show’ catch from Saquon Barkley was a sign of things to come in his TD bonanza in Brazil

Moore met with reporters Wednesday for the first time since Friday’s game and was asked what his review was from Hurts’ two interceptions.

“I’m always going to view it from a play-calling standpoint,” Moore said. “Aggressive calls at times, and I think those are opportunities for us just to grow from, learn from, one being backed up and one in the red zone. Obviously critical situations. Fortunately for us, we were able to come out of it and grow from those, but also avoid, obviously, the big-time negatives.”

Asked what the coaching points to Hurts were, Moore said: “Sometimes with those, we call a particular play that has some opportunity to earn the first down, and, at the same time, there [are] some situations where, hey, any completion is good, and we’ll make the decision as far as fourth down, whether it’s a kicking opportunity or a go-for-it opportunity.”

Hurts was efficient in Moore’s new offense during training camp, but flashes of his decision-making woes in 2023 when he threw a career-high 15 interceptions showed up Friday in Brazil.

“Not overly concerned,” Moore said. “To me, they are outliers.”

» READ MORE: Eagles vs. Packers film review: Will Quinyon Mitchell’s encouraging debut be enough to keep him outside?

Hurts’ interceptions weren’t the only concerns coming off the win. The Eagles had a few gaffes snapping the ball with new center Cam Jurgens.

One of them came on the Eagles’ second series. The team had gone to the silent count, and Jurgens snapped the ball to Hurts while the quarterback was looking in a different direction while making a check.

“It’s just an operational thing for all of us to grow through,” Moore said. “There’s a lot of things that go with that, from the snap to the cadence to the communication. There’s a lot of things that go on pre-snap, just tightening that aspect of it up for all of us. How can we clean it up as much as we can? But I feel optimistic going forward.”

» READ MORE: Jason Kelce weighs in on how the Eagles’ Tush Push looked without him, Saquon Barkley’s debut, and more

Another snap fiasco came near the end of the game, when the Eagles were attempting a Tush Push into the end zone that mathematically would have put the game out of reach. The ball went through Hurts’ hands and was recovered by Barkley, enabling the Eagles to kick a field goal to extend their lead.

The Eagles were 2-for-4 executing the Brotherly Shove in their first game without Jason Kelce. Moore said the play is a “premier” and “important” play that the Eagles will continue to use moving forward.

“Circumstances on Friday had some unique aspects of it, just with the footing and whatnot,” Moore said. “It will still be part of our deal.”

Tight end Jack Stoll was released, and the Eagles re-signed safety Caden Sterns to the practice squad. Stoll, who played three seasons for the Eagles, was signed to the practice squad two weeks ago after the New York Giants waived him. But E.J. Jenkins was the tight end who the Eagles elevated from the practice squad for their season opener.