Charles Barkley breaks silence on Nick Sirianni’s decision to rest Saquon Barkley
Charles Barkley extended his support to HC Nick Sirianni's decision to bench Saquon Barkley, even if he can't break the historic record.

Charles Barkley on Nick Sirianni's decision to rest Saquon Barkley (Via The NY Times/Imago/SBNation)
Last Wednesday, the Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni disappointed many fans by announcing to rest Saquon Barkley in the Week 18 game, even though the star running back was just 101 yards away from making history. While many have criticized the decision, Charles Barkley extended his support to Sirianni.
With 13-3 and the NFC East title, the Eagles are locked in for the playoffs. And unlike last season, they haven’t broken their momentum by winning 11 out of the last 12 games. In the Week 17 game, when quarterback Jalen Hurts was benched and backup Kenny Pickett made compromising mistakes, Barkley came to save the day as being the biggest part of Philly’s strong offense.
For the sake of breaking Eric Dickerson’s record for most rushing yards in a season, if they let Barkley play the final game and he ended up hurting himself, it could mean an end to the Eagles’ playoff and Super Bowl aspirations. In the recent episode of They Call It a Night with Jason Kelce, Charles Barkley echoed the same sentiments and called Philly the “favorite to win” the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
If Saquon Barkley went out there and got hurt, we would kill them. I personally think they are making the right decision. If they put that man out there, and he gets hurt, we’re going to do our job and crush him on television. So I’m glad he’s not playing and I’m really excited cause’ I think the Eagles are the favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Charles Barkley said
Saquon Barkley was clearly interested in going for the rushing record but says he’s at peace with Nick Sirianni’s decision. Said he didn’t come here to break a record and is grateful Sirianni took the decision out of his hands.
— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) January 1, 2025
Barkley said his father took it the hardest.
As much as Charles supported Sirianni’s decision to bench the star running back, former Eagles legend Jason Kelce shared his desire to see Saquon break the historic record.
Saquon Barkley expresses disappointment over near-record season
In the Week 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys, the three-time Pro Bowler reached 2,005 yards in his attempt to break Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards. However, after Sirianni’s decision was announced to the media, Saquon Barkley was asked to share his thoughts and he couldn’t hide away the disappointment in his voice for missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to write his name in history.

It was an opportunity to imprint my name in football history. Might not ever get an opportunity like that again. But at the end of the day I don’t care for putting the team at risk. He’s the head coach for a reason. He makes those decisions.
Saquon Barkley told the reporters
Although the star running back is upset that his individual stats couldn’t mark history, he understands that head coach Sirianni and the Eagles are looking at a bigger picture, in which he has the most crucial role to play.
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