Saquon Barkley, dealing with ‘general soreness,’ will play in Eagles’ Thursday night game at Giants
Barkley said his knee injury is "nothing [I'm] too worried about," and will suit up against his former team on Thursday night.
Saquon Barkley popped up on the Eagles’ injury report Monday with what the team called a knee injury.
The Eagles, of course, didn’t practice a day after their 21-17 loss to the Denver Broncos, but were required to release an estimated report ahead of Thursday night’s game at the New York Giants. Barkley was upgraded to a limited participant Tuesday during a walk-through.
“I know a lot of people started reacting because it said I wouldn’t practice,” Barkley said. “None of us practiced yesterday. … Nothing [I’m] too worried about, just general soreness."
» READ MORE: What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 6 vs. the Giants
Barkley will play Thursday night at MetLife Stadium against his former team, and the emotions attached to revisiting his former home stadium have dwindled.
“I said last year I didn’t know what to expect,” Barkley said. “Being in that environment, seeing everyone back there. It’s a year removed from it now. It is what it is. I’m just focused on trying to get back on track and getting a big win in the NFC East.”
Barkley said his knee soreness was not a reason why he was handed the ball six times during Sunday’s game and touched it just nine times total, the fewest amount in his career in a game he started and finished. The Eagles’ run game continues to struggle. Barkley is tallying 3.2 yards per carry, down from 5.8 in 2024. He has yet to top 100 yards in a single game.
A combination of poor offensive line play at times and defenses scheming against the Eagles have contributed to the slow start. Barkley said his knee was not a factor.
While Barkley is good to go for Thursday night, the Eagles are likely to be without left guard Landon Dickerson, who left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury and may miss more than just Thursday night’s game. Dickerson was once again listed as out Tuesday, as was tight end Grant Calcaterra (oblique).
Brett Toth would likely start in Dickerson’s place.
Jeffrey Lurie has owned the Philadelphia Eagles, which he purchased in 1994, longer than his son, Julian, has been alive. But in recent years, the younger Lurie, heir to the franchise and now 31, has assumed a more pervasive and influential role in the organization. While the Eagles have made no secret about Julian’s increased involvement with the team, specifics about his role have been scant. In recent months, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane spoke to nearly two dozen sources on and off the record to gain a better understanding of not just who Julian Lurie is and what he does, but - most important of all - whether he’ll be ready to assume the reins as Eagles Chairman and CEO, whenever the time comes. Jeff shares the biggest takeaways from his reporting with Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski in this companion episode to Jeff’s feature article about the Eagles' succession plan. Listen here.
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