The Eagles RB talked about how he’s giving his body plenty of rest after such a long season, and what he’s looking for in the upcoming season.
Before the Eagles departed for the summer, running back Saquon Barkley spoke to reporters following their last minicamp practice, and talked about how he’s approaching this offseason, particularly with giving his body some rest. He also commented on his recent retirement remarks and explained why he’s confident in the offense even if they have to change it.
The RB said that he had a lot of fun during the offseason, but he was excited to get back to work and back in the building to meet the new guys and start prepping for the season.
Barkley admitted that he has to be smarter in his approach to the offseason given the high number of carries he had last season.
“You have your moments where you go in there and grind, and you push it — a lot of people probably saw the squat video that the Eagles put out, but you have those days, but the majority of those days is just mobility, conditioning, doing all the things to get your body in shape to perform at a high level.
It was a lot of workload, but my body feels great. So, that’s the most important thing, and I think the way Nick [Sirianni] and everyone here has handled it has been really helpful for me.”
He later explained that he didn’t have to do much research into how best to manage his workload, but rather relied on the coaches and trainers in the building. Barkley said it’s important to listen to your body, and not to start off too quickly, and make sure to let the body heal from the previous season.
“The beauty of it is, I don’t know how many touches I had, or how many yards, but it doesn’t feel like it. I feel really good. I feel like I’m entering my prime.”
Earlier in his career it might have been hard for the running back to sit back while other guys were grinding, but he trusts those around him and everyone is telling him to take it easy. When it’s his time to work, he does, and when it’s his time to rest, he does that, too.
As the Eagles prepare for teams to make adjustments to try and stop Barkley, the RB said he has confidence in new OC Kevin Patullo, who he calls, “a hell of a coach,” and knows the offense still has guys like A.J. Brown, Jalen Hurts, and DeVonta Smith. They don’t know how things will look, but Barkley said the most important thing is winning, and they’ll adjust as they need in order to find ways to win.
Still, it was pointed out that no RB has ever rushed for 2,000 yards in consecutive years, and while Barkley said that would be really cool, he didn’t go into last season with the mindset of rushing for 2,000 yards, so he’s not going to focus on that. It’s all about taking care of the little things, and all the things he wants to accomplish will come after the work is put in.
Barkley also clarified his comments to Chris Long about when he’ll choose to retire, and emphasized that he’s not anywhere close to hanging up his cleats. While he doesn’t have any set number of years or accomplishments in mind, he hopes to keep playing for as long as his body allows.