Fake News: Saquon Barkley is ‘injury-prone’; why the current narrative should be put to rest

The Philadelphia Eagles made a splash just hours into the first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period by agreeing to a three-year, $37.75 million contact with former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley. Despite the potential upside with Barkley running behind one of the NFL’s best offensive lines, the narrative that he’s “injury prone” needs to be quickly put to bed.

Saquon Barkley’s injury history isn’t as bad as you think

Since 2020, the year Barkley tore his ACL and sprained his MCL in week 2 against the Chicago Bears, he’s been at the center of notions claiming he’s injury-prone. However, just looking at his history with the New York Giants and the mound of games he’s played, all it takes is a quick Google Search to realize that’s really not the case at all.

Angelo Cataldi claims Saquon Barkley gets hurt ‘quite a bit’

"Look, I like him as a player—he gets hurt quite a bit, that's a concern. Finally they'll have someone who picks up a block on a blitz.

"But it does not address the fact that they can't cover the pass."

— @_AngeloCataldi on the Eagles signing Saquon Barkley pic.twitter.com/bb8gsY6FmK

— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) March 12, 2024

Subsequent to the injuries that caused Barkley to miss the rest of the 2020 season, he’s since suffered just three — none of which caused him to miss a significant amount of time.

In six seasons with the New York Giants, Barkley was a two-time Pro Bowl selection, amassing 5,211 rushing yards and 47 total touchdowns. He will obviously be replacing D’Andre Swift, who is joining the Chicago Bears.

In the past three seasons, he’s played a total of 43 games out of a possible 51.

In 2023, Barkley appeared in 14 games for the Giants and rushed for over 962 yards on 247 attempts with six rushing touchdowns. The dynamic running back also hauled in 41 receptions on 60 targets for 280 yards receiving and four touchdowns. 

For reference, former Eagles running back D’Andre Swift also played 43 games in that same span. In fact, Swift played his first fully healthy season in his lone year Eagles. He played in 16 games and sat out week 18 with the rest of the starters as they preserved their health for the playoffs.

Last season, Swift also become the second lead-running back for the Eagles to finish Top 5 in rushing yards in the past two years. Previously, Miles Sanders was fifth in rushing in 2022.

Now let’s talk about 49ers’ running back Christian McCaffrey, who is regarded as the league’s best at the position.

2020 wasn’t kind to McCaffrey either.

He suffered three different injuries that caused him to miss majority of the season, appearing in just three games. The following year, injuries caused him to miss 10 games. He’s played in 43 games in the past four seasons; Barkley has played in 45.

Running backs are going to get banged up — it’s inevitable. It’s the position on offense that, majority of the time, touches the ball the most and comes face to face with the biggest, hardest-hitting guys on the field. Barkley has shown throughout his career he’s as tough as they come.

The Eagles are going to need that toughness throughout the season, as new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore plans on using Barkley as a reliable three-down back with plus pass-catching ability, a positional advantage the team has lacked in recent years.

Read More: Eagles complete the Giants Troll Trifecta with Saquon Barkley signing

Mandatory Credit: Cooper Neill, Getty Images