Saquon Barkley appears set to sit out the Philadelphia Eagles‘ final regular-season game Sunday, denying the running back his chance at breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record.
Barkley would finish the season with 2,005 yards rushing, just 101 yards shy of breaking Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards set with the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.
The Eagles (13-3) clinched the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the conference, leaving little to play for in Sunday’s home game against the New York Giants.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni declined Wednesday to say outright which starters would play and which ones would sit out, saying of Barkley, “he’ll probably be somebody that rests.”
[Related: Why Saquon Barkley is the NFL’s MVP]
Sirianni said he talked with Barkley, in his first season with the Eagles after six years with the Giants, about his decision.
“I think it’s pretty obvious how special this guy is,” Sirianni said.
Sirianni and the Eagles decided playing Barkley was not worth risking injury to perhaps their most valuable player and only the ninth running back in NFL history to top 2,000 yards rushing in a season.
Win, lose or tie against the Giants, the Eagles will host the Green Bay Packers or Washington Commanders in a wild-card playoff game.
Sirianni had said he planned to speak to everyone, including players, coaches, general manager Howie Roseman and owner Jeffrey Lurie before making his decision.
“It wasn’t the easiest decision to go through,” Sirianni said.
Sirianni likely will rest the bulk of the starters — notably quarterback Jalen Hurts, who sat out Sunday’s rout of Dallas with the lingering effects of a concussion — to get them rested and healthy ahead of what the franchise expects will be a meaningful run to the Super Bowl.
Hurts was still in the NFL’s concussion protocol on Sunday and could not practice or play until he was cleared.
With a pursuit of the Super Bowl ahead, Barkley’s run at the rushing record appears grounded.
“At the end of the day, I had to make the decision on what I felt was best,” Sirianni said.
After he ran for 167 yards in Sunday’s win against Dallas — the 27-year-old Barkley said, he wanted the record, but he would do what was best for the team, even if that meant sitting out the last game of the regular season.
Barkley signed a three-year deal with the Eagles for $26 million guaranteed and $37.75 million overall, making him the highest-paid running back in franchise history.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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