After coming off a historic season, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is thinking about retirement.
Saquon Barkley’s Comments About Retirement
Full clip on Saquon’s retirement https://t.co/xBvIJbjdbJ pic.twitter.com/j8k3oW0yrv
— Green Light with Chris Long (@greenlight) June 4, 2025
Barkley recently appeared on Green Light, a popular podcast hosted by former Eagle defensive end Chris Long.
While speaking about his future, Long asked Barkley if he plans to retire early or play until the “wheels fall off.” Long brought up Aaron Donald and how the Rams defensive tackle walked away from football despite being one of the best players in the league.
“That’s a great question,” Barkley said. “I’ll probably be one of those guys that it would be 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.”
Barkley, 28, compared himself to another running back who walked away while still playing at a high level.
“The competitive nature is always going to be there,” Barkley explained. “I like, probably my favorite player of all time is Barry Sanders, so probably similar to that. Maybe one day, like it’ll be out of nowhere, I’ll probably be ballin’, and just be like, yeah, call it quits.”
Sanders was 31 when he stunned the NFL world by retiring before the start of the 1999 training camp. Sanders played 10 seasons and never rushed for less than 1,115 yards.
Sanders rushed for 1,491 yards and four touchdowns in his final season with the Detroit Lions.
Saquon Barkley Will Look To Repeat Historic 2024 Season
.@Saquon hurdled his way onto the cover of #Madden26
Coming 8.14.25. Pre-Order Today.
🔗: https://t.co/zm14BbUaJf pic.twitter.com/l1QYWN0b7h
— Madden NFL 26 (@EAMaddenNFL) June 2, 2025
After spending his first six seasons with the New York Giants, Barkley signed with the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2024 offseason.
The signing was an absolute home run.
Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season. Barkley rushed for a record-breaking 2,504 yards last season, including the playoffs.
Barkley helped elevate the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Barkley’s historic season led to EA Sports putting the talented running back on the cover of Madden NFL 26.
