Nearly two years after the backwards leap that defined his 2024 season, Saquon Barkley is ready to let it go. In a new interview with USA Today, the Eagles running back made clear that the reverse hurdle, as iconic as it became, is not how he wants his career summed up.
Barkley has never hidden his appreciation for the play. It landed him on the cover of Madden and turned into one of the most replayed highlights in recent NFL memory. But looking back, he told USA Today’s Chris Bumbaca that he will never forget the moment while still not wanting it to define him, saying “I also don’t want to be remembered for that play.” The bigger point, in his telling, is that he believes his best football is still ahead of him.
Some of that outlook comes from how 2025 went. After a rushing title and a 2,000-yard campaign the year before, Barkley followed up with 1,140 yards behind a Philadelphia running game that slipped to 18th in the league, and the Eagles bowed out in the wild-card round. He has framed that step back as fuel, pointing to his training habits and a stated desire to get back to the biggest stage rather than fixate on raw numbers.
The conversation also touched on the parts of his world that have changed, from the departure of A.J. Brown to yet another new voice calling the offense. For a player who broke into the sport as a Penn State star, the throughline runs back to his college days in Happy Valley, where an earlier backwards hurdle first hinted at what he could do.
