Eagles Reporter Floats Potentially Shocking Saquon Barkley Development

Saquon Barkley's tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles has been dominant.

But his time with the Eagles could also be coming to an end soon.

Barkley's contract terms change drastically after this season, which could lead to his release from Philadelphia after this season according to Jeff Kerr of Sports Illustrated's Eagles website.

Barkley had 2,005 rushing yards in 2024 and followed that up with another stupendous season where he topped 1,400 all-purpose yards and landed at No. 8 on the top starting running back ranking by Pro-Football Focus.

Saquon Barkley Could be Released After the 2026 Season

Barkley, of course, signed a three-year, $37 million contract before his record-setting 2024 season, which led to a market-setting two-year, $41 million extension that supposedly keeps in Philadelphia through the 2028 season.

But Barkley will turn 30 the same week the Eagles hope to be preparing for Super Bowl LXI, and that is the imaginary summit for most running backs. Depending on Barkley's season, or perhaps inevitably, he could end up as a cap casualty in early June.

"Barkley does make $16.75 million guaranteed in 2026, and that number drops to $2.5 million in 2027. This is where things really get interesting," Kerr wrote. "Barkley makes $20.6 million a season on average and has an option bonus of $14.405 million in 2027.

"If the Eagles pick up the option, they are paying a lot of money for a 30-year-old running back. Barkley wasn't elite last season, and it may not matter if he's elite this season."

The Eagles would save about $5 million cap space by releasing Barkley after June 1, per Over the Cap and eat less than $8 million in dead money.

The Eagles tend to make proactive moves rather than reactive ones, and a Barkley decision would be just that.

The Eagles Could Restructure Saquon Barkley's Contract or Release him After 2027

Barkley is a marketer's dream, from an Eagles perspective.

He's a local kid from Whitehall Township that went to Penn State and had arguably the greatest offensive season in Eagles history.

So cutting Barkley after just three seasons would still look really bad from an Eagles perspective, especially if Barkley bounces back in Sean Mannion's offense -- which seems to be tailor made for him.

But Barkley's contract seems destined to be axed after the 2027 season. He has no guaranteed money for 2028, will be 30 going on 31 and could save the Eagles almost $12 million in cap space.

Plus by 2028 the Eagles could be overhauling their core -- and may even have a new head coach by then.