One argument against paying big money to running backs is longevity concerns. Younger, cheaper talent can offer similar production, the rationalization goes.
From that perspective, new Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, at 27 years old, could be considered close to the back side of his career. Barkley would like to call hogwash on those questions about longevity.
“That’s [BS],” Barkley told EJ Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer in a lengthy feature. “Marcus Allen played until he was 36, 37 years old. Some of the greats that I admire and I look up and study, they played well into their 30s. 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.”
The wear and tear of the running back position grinds on players, which has led teams to employ more committees and eschew the 300-carry seasons that have proven to harm future production for most backs.
Injuries at the position are commonplace, given the high usage and impact of collisions. Barkley dealt with an early career ankle sprain, a gruesome ACL tear early in Year 3 that took time to fully recover from, and another ankle sprain last season.
Barkley noted that he does everything he can to keep his body fresh and healthy, but injuries can be fluky -- they’re part of the job.
“I’ve been trying to control everything,” Barkley said. “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. But that’s what it is -- everything I want to be and all the potential people talk about, when I’m on the field, I’m that and more.”
Barkley inked a three-year contract with the Eagles worth $37.75 million, taking him through his age-29 season. He’s set to hit free agency again as a 30-year-old, planning to produce beyond his current deal.
“For me, it’s simple,” Barkley said. “When I’m on the field, I’m one of the best, if not the best. I just have to stay on the field. Knock on wood, it’s not injuries like a pulled hamstring or something like that, I tore my knee and I had two or three high ankle sprains that sat me out. ... Everything I want is still there. Everything I wanted to accomplish, I can still go out there and do it. I just have to believe in myself and go to work. If it doesn’t happen, it wasn’t in the cards, but every day I’m going to try to climb up that mountain and try to make it to the top.”