After a stellar season where Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley won the NFL rushing title, a Super Bowl, and landed on the cover of "Madden 26," he surprised fans by sharing that his retirement plan mirrors that of Hall of Famer Barry Sanders.
"I'll probably be one of those guys that it'll be out of nowhere. I'll probably just wake up one day, whether it's next year or two years or four years, and just be like, 'Yeah, it's over,'" Barkley said on Chris Long's Green Light podcast.
"... My favorite player of all time is Barry Sanders, so probably similar to that. Maybe one day, it'll be out of nowhere -- I'll be balling and be like, yeah, call it quits."
At 28, Saquon Barkley is three years younger than Barry Sanders was when the Detroit Lions icon unexpectedly retired just before training camp in 1999, following his 10th consecutive 1,000-yard season.
Saquon Barkley, the current NFL Offensive Player of the Year, topped the league with 345 carries for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns in 16 regular season starts. Additionally, he recorded 33 receptions for 278 yards and two touchdowns.
In four playoff games, Barkley added 91 rushes for 499 yards and five touchdowns, bringing his combined single season total to 2,504 yards, surpassing Terrell Davis' record.
Barkley has rushed 1,546 times for 7,216 yards and 48 TDs and caught 321 passes for 2,378 yards and 14 scores in 90 career games (all starts) for the New York Giants (2018-23) and Eagles. The Giants selected him second overall in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Penn State.