Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley says “it still doesn’t feel real” to play with Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense, per Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green.
The former New York Giants star joined the Eagles for training camp on Wednesday, where he publicly connected with Hurts for the first time:
Jalen Hurts’ first training camp handoff to Saquon Barkley: pic.twitter.com/Jgd0AGcWw7
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) July 24, 2024
Barkley recorded 962 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 14 games for the Giants in 2023. He will look to increase that production as part of an offense featuring Hurts, AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith this fall.
“I know this team can help me for my legacy,” Barkley told reporters, per NBC Sports’ John Clark. “Offensive line. That’s the reason why I wanted to come here. To show my true potential.”
Barkley added that he told Brown while they walked to practice, “I can’t believe they pay us to do this,” per Clark.
The Eagles may have struggled down the stretch last season as the team dropped five of the final six regular-season contests heading into their Wild Card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Barkley is still set to join a much stronger offensive line than the one he left in New York.
The Giants averaged 280 offensive yards per game last season, good for 28th in the NFL, while the Eagles’ 354 yards per game put them among the top 10 most productive offenses in the game.
There’s also the fact that Barkley will be able to catch passes from a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback in Hurts, about whom Barkley had expressed excitement even before training camp.
“I see Jalen out there grinding,” Barkley recently told Dianna Russini of The Athletic. “He’s pushing us. I’m not going to fall behind and vice versa. Like, we push each other. And when you have a guy like that, and if I’m able to come in and match that intensity, it just, it’s infectious throughout the whole team.”
All eyes will be on how new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore helps Barkley gel with Hurts, Brown, Smith and Dallas Goedert as the Eagles look to bounce back from their dispiriting end to the 2023 season with a season-opening win in Brazil against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 6.
