On his first carry of the Week 4 game against the Rams, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley suffered a hamstring injury. After missing two games, he aggravated it on his first carry of the Week 7 game against the Cowboys.
It raises an obvious question. Was Barkley ready to go? At a deeper level, it’s fair to wonder whether the mutual desire for Barkley to play was driven by the opportunity to find a trade partner for Barkley before the deadline, which arrives in two weeks.
After the loss to Dallas, coach Nick Sirianni was asked about the decision to play Barkley, 22 days after he strained his hamstring.
“Obviously, you saw that he was on a pitch count out there today,” Sirianni told reporters. “There was constant communication to see how he was feeling, see where he was, and obviously, he came out early in the second half. Again, when you go into something like that, you make sure that the player’s health is first and foremost. Is he ready to go? Do they feel ready to go? Do the doctors and trainers feel like they’re ready to go? We felt like that was the case today, but obviously wanted to keep a close eye on him, and he’s tough as heck. He wanted to be out there for his teammates, probably had to slow him [down] as far as -- he’d be out there every play because of the person he is and the teammate he is and the player he is and the toughness that he has.
“So, we tried to be smart with him there, but it was good to have him back out there. He obviously had a nice game and was very productive when he touched the football.”
Things changed after that first carry. He throttled back on the temptation to reach top speed.
“He obviously got out of there on that and did a good job of protecting himself,” Sirianni said regarding Barkley’s first carry. “I think that’s a play that, normally with Saquon, you see him break out of that and it’s hard to catch him in those situations. I mean, you change as you go. Obviously, I think he probably played a little less than what we initially thought. He definitely played a little less than what we initially thought. But like I said, he’s tough as heck and it’s good to have him back out there, just to have his presence out there and then his playmaking ability.”
Eventually, Barkley left the game with what was called a back injury. And that complicates any possibility of finding a contender that will give real value to the Eagles. With Colts running back Jonathan Taylor potentially available, a team looking for a running back will be looking for a player who is as close to healthy as possible.