The Philadelphia Eagles enter the 2025 season as defending Super Bowl champions with much of their roster unchanged. Despite some departures such as Kellen Moore and Mekhi Becton, the team’s offense remains largely similar to last season, maintaining continuity for a group that performed well in 2024.
Running back Saquon Barkley played a key role last year, recording 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season. His production earned him an extension during the offseason. Barkley recently spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bishop about his outlook for the upcoming year, stating that he believes he is just entering his best phase as a player.
“This season, Barkley says emphatically, marks the beginning of his prime and his second season surrounded by teammates who can carry teams and don’t need him to,” Bishop said. “He takes issue with the whole concept of an athletic prime, too. He points to Curtis Martin, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith, and Fred Taylor, to name four examples of running backs who turned in their best seasons at or around his age.”(…)”That (past prime) notion is so funny,” Barkley said. “It’s bunk, all the running-back-position-is-dying (stuff). You got wide receivers who (teams) pay all this money to, and when they get into their 30s, they’re not performing at the highest level; you just never hear that. How many quarterbacks can you name who played into their later 30s? Everyone’s not Tom Brady. They have to let that go!” — Saquon Barkley and Greg Bishop
Last year saw Barkley come close to breaking the all-time rushing record before being rested by coaches in Week 18. Although he did not break the record, he contributed significantly to Philadelphia’s championship run.
As preparations for the new NFL season continue, questions remain about whether Barkley can build on his historic performance and lead Philadelphia in another title defense.
