There have been moments this season when Saquon Barkley is trending toward getting his 2024 groove back with the Philadelphia Eagles, only to get hurt and lose all momentum.
Barkley has now been injured twice this season for the Eagles. The first was in their Week 2 win over the Tennessee Titans, where he got hurt on the first play of the game, suffered a stinger, and, while he tried to return, was pulled from the game. His second injury came in the Eagles' Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, where this time he got hurt on the second drive of the game with a hamstring injury and never returned
It appears the latest is that the Eagles will run tests on Barkley to see how severe his hamstring injury is, but it shouldn't be too serious. Still, this doesn't leave a great taste in fans' mouths, as Barkley can't even be relied on to stay on the field.
Saquon Barkley is heading down a very bad path for the Eagles in 2026
Looking at the Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders and Week 3 loss to the Chicago Bears, Barkley has nearly identical stats. Against Washington, he had 15 carries for 83 yards, while he also had 15 carries for 82 yards against the Bears. That's a 5.5-yard-per-carry average, showing he still has it.
Unfortunately, it hasn't been consistent, as we haven't seen it consistently over the last year. This was a guy who ran for over 2,000 yards and won the Offensive Player of the Year award in 2024, but then dipped to 1,140 yards last season.
His problem in 2026 is that he can't stay on the field to help this team when they need him. He's been wearing a cowboy-neck collar on his pads to protect himself from further injury. Nothing will protect him from the hamstring injury.
Barkley is great at changing direction on a dime and using his speed to break away from defenders in the open field. He won't be able to do that if his hamstring isn't 100% healthy.
Even if Barkley's hamstring ends up being okay, it won't change the fact that he can't be trusted. All Eagles fans will think about is when he'll get hurt next.
It almost feels like, for the Eagles' Week 5 London game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he would be better off sitting it out and getting healthy again with a game off. This is a long season, and losing Barkley because he's trying to push it while not being 100% won't help this team right now.
Read more: Eagles fans are praying 2026 can have 2024 vibes (but don't count on it)
Eagles fans want to support Barkley because of his role in the team's Super Bowl title just two years ago. We are a long way from that now, and the star running back, while he's a good player, is looking a lot more like a dying star in the sky this season.
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