Saquon Barkley Sets Sights on Elite Production in His Ninth NFL Season

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has publicly declared his intent to return to elite rushing performance in the 2026 season, which will be his ninth year in the NFL. He frames the goal as a personal challenge to compete with the league’s historic late-career rushers.

Newsweek

In the 2025 season, Barkley recorded 1,140 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, a noticeable decline from his 2024 campaign when he amassed a league-leading 2,005 yards and 13 scores en route to a Super Bowl victory. Barkley points to Barry Sanders’ ninth-year peak in 1997—2,053 yards and 11 touchdowns—as a model, noting that only four running backs in the past two decades have rushed for at least 1,300 yards at age 29 or older. He also cites Walter Payton’s sustained productivity into his late 20s and early 30s as evidence that high-level output can persist beyond the early-career peak.

Newsweek

• 2025: 1,140 rushing yards, 7 touchdowns (Eagles)

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• 2024: 2,005 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns; Super Bowl title (Eagles)

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• Barry Sanders (1997, age 29): 2,053 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns

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• Historical note: Four RBs in the last 20 years have >=1,300 rushing yards at age 29+

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• “The competitor in me, who I am to the core, I want to say [expletive] everybody. You don’t think I’m able to put myself in that category?'” — Saquon Barkley

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• “When I look at the guys that I want to be in the category with when I’m done playing, they all played well when they got older,” — Saquon Barkley

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Barkley’s stated mindset is to “put himself in the category” of late-career elite rushers for “another five more years,” indicating a target of sustained high performance through his early 30s. He plans to leverage the competitive drive he expressed in recent interviews as he prepares for the upcoming season.

Newsweek