Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has been balling for his new team this season. In eight games, Barkley has rushed for 925 yards and six touchdowns on 157 carries. In addition, he has 20 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
At this rate, Barkley, who averages 22 touches a game, would finish the season with 377 touches. Last week, in the team’s win over the Jaguars, the 27-year-old had 27 carries for 159 yards, four catches for 40 yards, and two total touchdowns.
On Wednesday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni discussed Barkley’s workload.
“You try to take care of them and do what you need to do to win each and every football game,” Sirianni said. “You try to take care of them throughout the week. I think the two games – obviously not last game, but the game before that and the game before that – we were able to get him out in the fourth quarter.
“So you try to monitor it as much as you possibly can. And that’s really our jobs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and being aware of it on Sunday.
“But, yeah, always considering that with each and every one of our players with load management. I think our strength and conditioning staff and our trainers and our doctors give me really good insight on how to do that. And give our staff really good insight on how to do that. Yeah, always on our mind with how many touches he has.”
Like Sirianni, Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore says the team is monitoring Barkley’s touches.
“Saquon [Barkley] has done a phenomenal job, especially in some of these games where he’s had higher workloads,” Moore said Tuesday. “It’s something that we’ll have to monitor and be aware of during the week.
“I think we do an excellent job through the week as far as getting him ready to go on Sunday. He does an excellent job with his preparation. Really impressive preparation the way he handles it, and we’ll just see how it goes.”
Barkley, who has battled injuries over the year, had a career-high 352 touches in 2022, so if he continues at this same pace in 2024, it would be a career-high. Philly will have to watch his workload, but he’s been really effective, so it could be tricky.
