Eagles Star Walks Back Talk Of Retirement: 'No Date Set'

It was a comment that sparked a bonfire. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said on a recent podcast with Chris Long that he could “probably (be) one of those guys that (retirement) would be out of nowhere.”

It’s what one of his favorite running backs of all time did. Barry Sanders ran for more than 2,000 yards in 1997, put up 1,491 a year later, then, at the age of 30, retired. Barkley walked that back a bit on Tuesday after the Eagles’ one-day minicamp practice.

“I don’t think I’ll ever lose the passion for the game,” he said. “The retiring thing, I think that caught a little fire on social media. I don’t plan on retiring any time soon. The question was asked of me, and I don’t have a set date, or how many years I want to play. I would love to play this game as long as God lets me, and my body lets me, so that’s really it.”

Barkley just turned 28 in February. A month after his birthday, the Eagles gave him a contract extension that will made him the first running back in NFL history to make $20-plus million per year and will keep him here through the 2028 season when he will be 31 – provided, of course, he doesn’t change his mind and abruptly retire.

“I guess anybody could do that, right?” said Nick Sirianni when asked about his thoughts on Barkley’s comments that became an inferno. “I just know he's got a lot of good football left in him. Again, I have interactions with these guys every single day and I'm excited that he's on our football team and he'll be on our football team for the 2025 season and I really don't let myself get wrapped up into anything else beyond that, except for the day that we're in and trying to get ready for this practice and obviously handle all those things as they come.

“Yeah, as long as I'm the head coach here, I'd always want to Saquan Barkley on this football team. Obviously, it means a lot to this football team and as a player and as a teammate.”