Resting in Week 18 last season cost Philadelphia Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley a shot at breaking the NFL all-time regular-season rushing record. Resting in Week 18 this season could cost Barkley a hefty chunk of change.
Barkley enters Philadelphia’s Week 18 matchup with the Washington Commanders with 1,413 scrimmage yards on the season. If he doesn’t play against Washington, he will end the campaign with that total.
Saquon Barkley sits 87 yards short of $250,000 contract incentive
The thing is, Barkley has an incentive in his contract that nets him an additional $250,000 if he hits 1,500 scrimmage yards in a season. He currently sits 87 yards shy of that total.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has made it clear that he plans to sit many key contributors in the game against Washington, prioritizing rest over all else, which means that Barkley will likely remain 87 yards short of the mark.
“At the end of the day, it’s not a guarantee that we can get the No. 2 seed, but I can guarantee that I can rest the starters,” Sirianni said. “[I] just thought that was the best thing for our football team right there.”
Barkley is a team-first guy, so if Sirianni thinks that resting the starters is in the best interest of the Eagles and their chances of repeating as Super Bowl champions, he’s probably cool with it. If anything, Barkley is probably annoyed with himself for not hitting the 1,500-yard mark earlier in the season.
Plus, Barkley will have an opportunity to make that money up in the postseason as he’ll earn additional incentives if Philadelphia wins the NFC Championship and Super Bowl.