Following six seasons with the New York Giants, Saquon Barkley has earned the right to be considered one of the top active running backs in the league. Aside from seasons hindered by injury, Barkley has consistently churned out impressive campaigns with subpar talent surrounding him.
In free agency, Barkley signed within the NFC East, joining Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
In their first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, Barkley suited up but never saw any action. Will that be the case for Barkley tonight?
Latest on What We Know About Saquon Barkley’s Status Against New England
There’s a belief that Eagles starters would get to play one series in last week’s preseason matchup, but that didn’t end up being the case.
Barkley is heading into his seventh season in the NFL, and with his injury history, there’s a possibility that the Eagles stay cautious with their new bell cow running back.
However, with Kellen Moore joining the Eagles as their new offensive coordinator following Brian Johnson, there’s a possibility he’d like to get some familiarity with calling a game with as many pieces of a real-game setting present as possible.
This marks Moore’s first season with the Eagles. He joins the team after being the Chargers’ offensive coordinator last season, where he led their rather lackluster offense.
The Moore-led Chargers ranked 21st in points scored and 18th in offensive yardage in 2022, ranking among the league’s bottom-level offenses. However, the Chargers’ offense suffered many injuries, most notably to quarterback Justin Herbert.
Joining an Eagles offense with an array of weapons, Philadelphia hopes to get the version of Moore who coached Dallas into being one of the top offenses in his four seasons with the Cowboys.
So, while Barkley could see the field against New England, it’s not likely to be for long.
Last season, former Eagles starting running back D’Andre Swift saw just two carries in the preseason finale against Cleveland. If history repeats itself, there’s not much reason to believe Barkley will play much in the preseason, if at all.
Expectations are for backup running backs Kenneth Gainwell, Will Shipley, and Lew Nichols to take most if not all of the snaps, with a majority of starters staying put for this game.
The highest likelihood of seeing Barkley would be against the Vikings in their final preseason matchup heading into the regular season, maybe getting a few series.
With both teams joining each other for joint practices this week heading into their preseason matchup, starters for both teams will get valuable reps against an opposing team. Whether those joint practice reps are enough for Sirianni and the Eagles’ coaching staff is to be determined.