Several running backs quickly landed free agent deals this offseason, including Saquon Barkley. The six-year Giant joined the Eagles on a deal featuring $26MM fully guaranteed. Lucrative investments at the position are rare in large part due to the risk of injury and the drop in performance seen as running backs age. 
Barkley is entering his age-27 season, a point where many backs struggle to land long-term commitments. The former Offensive Rookie of the Year’s resume also includes a number of injuries, adding to the risk incurred by the Eagles in signing him. Barkley is confident, however, that he will be able to remain productive well into the second chapter of his NFL tenure.
“Marcus Allen played until he was 36, 37 years old,” the former No. 2 pick said (via EJ Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer). “Barry [Sanders] left at 29, 30 and he left in his prime. It’s what you put in, what you put in is what you get out. That’s any position. There’s this weird thing with running backs right now. Is it a difficult position to play? Yes. Do you take wear and tear? Yes. But who are you or anyone else to tell me how long I can play the game? I call [BS].
“When it’s over for me, it’s over for me. But I feel like if I continue to put the right stuff in my body and do the right things, there will be a day when I’m 32 or 33 and I want to hang it up, and I’m going to do it just because.”
Barkley will be counted on to handle a large workload with the Eagles as their lead back, although the team’s skill position group should lower his usage relative to his Giants tenure. The Penn State product voiced a desire to finish his career in New York, but an offer similar in value to Philadelphia’s did not emerge this offseason. Barkley – who is under contract through 2026 – will need to remain healthy for his Eagles tenure to be productive. After an ACL tear and multiple ankle sprains, questions have been raised about his durability. Barkley does not attribute those to poor conditioning, though, so further injury issues are not a concern on his part.
“I’ve been trying to control everything,” he added. “Like, ‘I have to do this so I won’t get hurt.’ I can’t control that. My three or four injuries I’ve had in the NFL are flukes. There was nothing I could do to change them.”
Plenty of attention will be placed on Barkley’s Philadelphia tenure and his overall longevity. If he manages to produce as expected, his addition will prove to be an effective one from the team’s perspective while allowing him to enjoy a strong second phase in his career.