The Philadelphia Eagles are staunch on keeping Saquon Barkley at this month's NFL trade deadline and prefer not moving on from one of their franchise players whose usage has dwindled amid a 2-5 start, NFL Network reports.
The 29-year-old running back has two years and $35 million remaining on his contract and sources close to the team have reportedly indicated general manager Howie Roseman has made it apparent to possible suitors that Barkley is off the market ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline.
There's interest from others in a potential Barkley acquisition, but Philadelphia reportedly plans to move forward in 2027 with its current offensive nucleus and try again if this season continues to go awry.
At last season's deadline, the Eagles were buyers after acquiring edge rusher Jaelan Phillips from the Miami Dolphins for a 2026 third-round pick and landed cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Michael Carter II. That continued a trend of Philadelphia fishing for talent under Roseman midway through the season to gear up for a potential stretch run.
Currently third in the NFC East with Jalen Hurts out for the season, the Eagles could be sellers this time around, with hopes of a postseason appearance diminishing. Barkley played only nine snaps in last week's game against the Dallas Cowboys with a back injury and has 244 yards rushing and a touchdown on 43 attempts this fall.
After averaging 312 carries and 1,572 yards rushing per season over his first two years with the Eagles, Barkley's statistical projections in 2026 fall well short of expectations during the first campaign in which he'll likely miss the playoffs with the franchise. He's expected to play in Sunday's game against the Washington Commanders despite a nagging back situation.
With four other ball carriers on injured reserve, the Eagles take the field with Barkley, Jaydon Blue and Elijah Mitchell available in the backfield. Barkley did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday and was reportedly limited during Friday's walk-through.
"I would hope so; I believe I'll be able to," Barkley said Friday about his weekend availability. "There's one day I'm not going to be playing football. Whenever that is, I don't want to look back and be like, 'I could have given it a chance and I didn't.' It's kind of what I live by. I'm going to try my best to just keep recovering, being smart, but I like playing football, so if I have an opportunity to play, I'm going to try my best to play."
