Eagles' Kenjon Barner playing for his livelihood

KENJON BARNER has known Chip Kelly for a long time, from his days as a high school football star, through a brief but emotionally devastating conversion into a defensive back at Oregon, through his emergence as an explosive and draftable college running back, to the last two injury-marred NFL seasons that threatened to end his dream before it began.

So when he speaks about not having highs or lows, it is less a cliché than it is a life mantra. And when he uses words like maturity and character, he speaks not from that well-worn athlete's script but rather a personal eureka.

"Yeah, you grow up," he was saying in the Eagles' locker room after yesterday's practice. "I was having this conversation with my dad a few weeks back. In college, it's not your job. It's something that you do. And kids don't have the same focus as these guys have in this locker room. Here, your livelihood depends on it, your family depends on it. Everything that revolves around you is based on your job.

"When I first got in the league, I didn't look at it in that light. So I guess in a sense you can say I took it for granted."

There is no more taking anything for granted. When Barner, takes the field against the Jets tomorrow night in the Meadowlands, he will be playing as much for that family, that livelihood, as he is for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Yes, he will also be playing for Kelly, who has said his former Ducks star has already made a "huge case" to make the Eagles. But just in case - a phrase that has become another Barner mantra - he will also be playing for Kelly's 31 colleagues, especially those looking to upgrade their running game and special-teams play.

The Eagles already have three of the NFL's more famous running backs already on his squad, and just a few months ago no one was even introducing the thought that he might carry four into the regular season. But that was before Barner electrified us with those two punt returns and a 50-yard catch-and-run the other night in Green Bay, with that fifth gear that enabled him each time to pull away from tacklers as if they had the wrong cleats, and conjured up the image of a young Darren Sproles.

Now the prevailing thought is that the 5-9 Barner will be part of the 53-man roster after Saturday's deadline, extending that relationship with his college coach. That he could even someday be an heir apparent to the Sproles, should the 5-6 veteran ever start to show signs of age.

One person who sees that? Sproles, who has taken Barner under his wing. And Barner isn't wasting it. "I'm into Sproles," he said, smiling. "Stay in Sproles' back pocket. I learn from him. Whatever Sproles does, I'm doing. Wherever he's at, I'm at. That's my guy."

Yesterday, Jason Kelce spoke about the character in the locker room being better than it was in any of his four previous seasons. Sproles is a great example of what he is talking about, but not unique. Barner - who was traded to the Eagles by Carolina in August 2014 for a conditional pick, cut 11 days later when he reinjured an ankle and signed to their practice squad in November - wants to stick with the Eagles at least partly because of Kelce's observation.

"I think it's very rare that you can get around somebody like Sproles, who is going on his 11th year in the league, who is willing to help the younger guy," Barner said. "You'd think they'd look at it as competition. Why would I help the guy who's trying to beat me out?

"But these guys are extremely helpful. Everybody is willing to lend a helping hand. If you don't understand [something], guys will help you. Even defensive guys will stay after practice to help you get better. Whatever it is, offensive guys are willing to take time after practice, after meetings, to sit with you and help you get further along. I would like to think this situation here is completely different than elsewhere."

But if he has to . . . well, at the end of the day, it's his job. A job he has dreamed of doing even before he knew Chip Kelly, even before all those hard knocks and obstacles forged his mantra and shaped the resilience and determination that has fueled what looks to be - if not here, then somewhere else - a calling-card summer.

"You can never do enough," he said. "There's always more that you can do, always more that you can create . . . But at the same time, I just have to go out and do my part. Continue to make plays, continue to capitalize on opportunities. And hopefully, that puts me in a great position at the end of the day."

On Twitter: @samdonnellon

Columns: ph.ly/Donnellon