While quarterback Jalen Hurts took most of the blame for the Philadelphia Eagles falling flat in 2025, there was another player on the roster who probably should have been in the crosshairs as well — NFL All-Pro running back Saquon Barkley.
While Barkley’s struggles were mostly blamed on the offensive line, his drop-off in production from 2024 to 2025 was extraordinary.
In 2024, Barkley had 1 of the greatest seasons for a running back in NFL history, becoming just the 9th player in NFL history to crack 2,000 rushing yards on the way to leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl win and being named NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Barkley seemed like a different player in 2025, going from 2,005 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 16 games in 2024 to 1,140 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. That included a gut-punch drop in yards per carry from 5.8 yards to 4.1 yards.
That regression is why Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon thinks Barkley could be at the center of a “Nightmare Scenario” for the Eagles in 2026.
“(The nightmare scenario is) Saquon Barkley continues to decline, exposing Jalen Hurts, who struggles mightily with Makai Lemon learning the ropes as A.J. Brown‘s de facto replacement,” Gagnon wrote.
Eagles Gave Saquon Barkley Record-Setting Contract
Just 1 year after signing Barkley to a 3-year, $37.75 million free-agent contract in March 2024, the Eagles made the unusual decision to re-up with him on a new deal.
That new contract, for 2 years and $42.1 million, made Barkley the highest-paid running back in NFL history and the first running back to earn over $20 million per season.
“Eagles are rewarding Saquon Barkley with a two-year, $41.2 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, per sources,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on March 4, 2025. “The deal makes Barkley the NFL’s first $20 million+ per-year running back. Barkley also has the ability to earn an additional $15 million in incentives and escalators. The deal includes $36 million fully guaranteed at signing. The Eagles are taking the rare step of extending Barkley one year into his three-year deal — and in the same league year in which they signed him to the initial contract.”
Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, spent the 1st 6 seasons of his career with the New York Giants.
Rookie RB Draws Saquon Barkley Comparisons
Whatever happens with Barkley moving forward, it’s already clear that his 2024 season has changed how NFL running backs are viewed —and paid — for the foreseeable future.
The last 2 NFL drafts have seen running backs drafted in the Top 10 with the hopes they might eventually have the impact Barkley had with the Eagles — and received the big-money deals to go with it.
In 2025, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty at No. 7 overall, and he signed a fully guaranteed 4-year, $35.8 million contract.
In 2026, the Arizona Cardinals selected Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love — arguably the best pound-for-pound player available — with the No. 3 overall pick, where he’s in line for a 4-year, $53 million contract.
Love’s contract makes him the 7th highest-paid running back in the NFL the moment he steps on the field. By comparison, No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza’s 4-year, $57.2 million rookie contract with the Raiders makes him the 19th highest paid quarterback.
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