Barry Sanders advises Saquon Barkley not to retire early

It was always going to be hard for Saquon Barkley to stay out of the spotlight this offseason. When you just had arguably the best rushing season in the history of the NFL and won the Super Bowl, every comment is going to get clipped, dissected and overreacted to. 

Barkley dealt with that a couple weeks ago. The running back made headlines when he hinted at a potential early retirement during an appearance on Chris Long's Green Light Podcast. 

Full clip on Saquon’s retirement https://t.co/xBvIJbjdbJ pic.twitter.com/j8k3oW0yrv

— Green Light with Chris Long (@greenlight) June 4, 2025

Barkley said he could retire "out of nowhere," similar to former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders, one of his favorite players of all-time, who hung up his cleats at 31. Barkley's comments — which he has since walked back — raised some eyebrows. 

Sanders also joined in on the dialogue, imploring Barkley to keep playing and not take his path. 

"I would say maybe after the Lions win a Super Bowl, and I feel like the Eagles have a chance to maybe win another one. So you should stick around for a little while," Sanders said of Barkley to Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports. "I still see him as still being very young. I'm excited with what he's been able to do in Philadelphia, and really, just his journey. He was written off by the Giants and to see the kind of year he had last year, I know he still has a lot of great years ahead of him."

Running back is a tough position to gauge. Due to wear and tear, running backs often have a tough time maintaining production into their late 20s and early 30s. They get beat up and it's led to teams being hesitant to pay them, which is in part how Barkley ended up with the Eagles. 

Barkley rushed for over 2,000 yards during his first season with the Eagles. His usage is something to monitor, especially with how quickly running backs decline. His 345 regular-season rushing attempts were 50 more than his previous career high, set in 2022. 

However, Sanders downplayed the idea of Barkley's body letting him down.

"Sometimes players feel (that) way, and once they get into camp and into the season, they feel different," Sanders said. "Philadelphia feels like a great place, a great home for him, so hopefully it's just sort of a temporary thing that he's experiencing, that he'll continue to enjoy the success there with that great team they've assembled. I'm pretty sure he and the Lions will be fighting it out to get the big one this year and years to come. But I wish him the best with whatever he decides to do, though."

During his first media session since the podcast with Long, Barkley was asked about his remarks, where he downplayed them.

"The question was asked of me, and I don't have a set date or how many years I want to play," Barkley told The Philadelphia Inquirer's Olivia Reiner and local media last week. "I would love to play this game as long as God lets me and my body lets me."

Nobody can decipher what goes through Barkley's head on a day-to-day basis. Based on his most recent statement, it seems retirement isn't on Barkley's mind and what he told Long was just random podcast spitballing. 

Barkley has already cemented his name in Philadelphia folklore after a historic first season. He has the chance to be one of the best Eagles players in franchise history if he keeps it up. It might be tough to replicate his 2024 stats, but the Eagles' offensive line and weapons on the outside will allow Barkley to have a chance to play at an elite level for however long he wants.

"The thing that drives me is the same thing that has been driving me since I was a little kid," Barkley said. "I've said it since I got into the league. I don't mean it in an arrogant way. I want to be the best running back to ever play, or at least one of the best running backs to ever play. I don't think that there's actually a way you can prove (you're) the best. But that's always been my motivation."