Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman had a history of going bargain-bin shopping at running back during his tenure with the team … until this offseason, when star running back Saquon Barkley became available in free agency.
Roseman suddenly broke his longtime trend, signing Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million contract. While many were worried if Barkley could still handle a full workload at 27 years old, he proved all of his doubters wrong in Week 1.
Nick Sirianni Is Worried About Winning, Not Managing Saquon Barkley’s Workload
During Nick Sirianni’s tenure as head coach of the Eagles, Philadelphia has often relied on a running-back-by-committee approach in the backfield.
Through Sirianni’s first three seasons in Philadelphia, Miles Sanders played the most snaps in a single game at running back with 55 total snaps against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022, according to TruMedia.
Barkley broke that mark in his Eagles debut, as he logged 61 total snaps for the Eagles. He also recorded 26 total touches in Week 1, a mark that has only been reached by a running back just three other times during Sirianni’s tenure as head coach in Philadelphia.
Sirianni was asked about Barkley’s workload against the Packers and how the team will manage him moving forward during his press conference on Monday.
“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 regarding Barkley’s high volume of touches in Week 1.
“And whether that’s Saquon getting 20-whatever touches, whether that’s us throwing the ball to [WRs] A.J. [Brown], DeVonta [Smith], [TE] Dallas [Goedert], whatever it may be, you try to manage them more within practice.”
While Sirianni will manage Barkley’s workload in practice, it’s clear that he is focused on doing whatever it takes to win each game. If that means Barkley is going to touch the ball 30 times in a single game, so be it.
“Every time you go into the game — every game is so important in the NFL,” Sirianni said.
“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.”
Barkley’s Historic Debut for the Eagles in Week 1
Barkley exceeded all expectations during his Eagles debut against the Packers in Week 1. The 27-year-old running back scored three touchdowns for the Eagles, the second three-touchdown game of Barkley’s career and his first since his rookie season in 2018.
Barkley became the second player to score three touchdowns in his Eagles debut, joining Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens (2004).
While Barkley’s debut for the Eagles was impressive, Sirianni understands that he won’t always have to shoulder the load in Philadelphia. Sirianni believes the ebbs and flows of the season will help balance out Barkley’s workload naturally.
“Games will take care of themselves as they go,” Sirianni said. “There will naturally be a game where we throw it 50 times or [RBs] Kenneth [Gainwell] or Will [Shipley] will have a couple carries.”
“So that will take care of itself throughout the year. As of right now, we handle that through our practice.”
It will certainly be interesting to see how Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore handle Barkley’s workload moving forward. If Jalen Hurts continues to struggle with turnovers, the Eagles could be forced to rely on Barkley a bit more than expected.