After his 2024 season, Eagles fans anticipated seeing Saquon Barkley have another breakout season and play a major role in leading the Eagles to another Super Bowl.

The thought of winning another Super Bowl certainly was a pliable one with the league’s Offensive Player-of-the-Year leading the charge.

Everything seemed perfectly aligned, and the fan base’s curiosity and perception registered record heights.

Well, we all know how it turned out.

Barkley was an enigma in the 2025 season — as was the Eagles offense.

After a record-breaking 2024 season in which he rushed for 2,005 yards and scored 13 touchdowns, Barkley’s workload was nearly cut in half. He finished with 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns.

Barkley’s yards-per-carry dropped from 5.8 to 4.1 and his yards per game dropped from 125.3 to 71.3. In his defense, the 2025 season wasn’t a typical one.

Some blame his production shortage on the Eagles’ injury-riddled offensive line, while others point to the Birds’ apparent discombobulated offense.

Or did Barkley simply begin to lose a step?

Former embattled offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo took the bulk of the blame for Barkley and his offensive comrades’ lack of expected offensive production — and their shocking early playoff exit against a battered 49ers squad.

Whatever the case, the Eagles brass reacted swiftly.

They brought in ex-Packers quarterbacks coach, 33-year-old Sean Mannion, who only had two years under his belt.

That Packers connection going back to Andy Reid hasn’t faded away.

Despite retirement and trade rumors, the Birds’ offensive line is back intact. However, they did part ways with highly regarded line coach Jeff Stoutland, a move that certainly ruffled some feathers.

They moved on from hot-button wide receiver A.J. Brown, a transaction that was foreseen for months.

Any remnants of the 2025 slate were wiped clean.

It was time for a new beginning offensively, and Barkley would again play a major role. Playmaker Brown is gone and a bevy of other receivers have been brought aboard to replace him, a move that could further place more pressure upon Barkley.

Like he has in the past few seasons, Barkley again looked fit, cut and fast in the spring. He didn’t show any initial signs of slowing down.

With training camp opening in a few weeks, what can be envisioned for the former Penn State standout and Giants castoff?

Can Barkley Bring It at 29-Plus? ... According to most statistical studies, running backs hit their peak at ages 25 and 26. They are usually at the end of their careers at age 32.

Of course, there are always exceptions.

Pittsburgh’s John Henry Johnson ran for 1,141 yards at age 33 in 1962, and followed that with a 1,048-yard season at age 35 two years later. Fellow Steeler Franco Harris netted 1,007 yards at 33 in 1983.

Washington’s John Riggins defied the odds, rambling for 1,347 yards at age 34 in 1983, and ran for another 1,048 the next season.

Other backs to hit the 1,000-yard barrier in the NFL’s “senior” category were Walter Payton (1,551 at age 31 in 1985); Tony Dorsett (1,307, 31, in 1985); Tiki Barber (1,662, 31 in 2006); Emmett Smith (1,021, 32 in 2000); and Frank Gore (1,205, 33 in 2016).

Last season, Baltimore’s Derrick Henry plowed his way for 1,595 yards at age 31, while San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey hit 1,202 at 29. Barkley was the league’s sixth-leading rusher at age 28, and the third oldest behind Henry and McCaffrey.

Since 2022, Barkley is second in the NFL in rushing yards per game (87.4), only behind Henry (92.9).

Bleak Future? ... According to his contract, Barkley will make $16.75 million this season, but that drops to $2.5 in 2027 when he turns 30.

Barkley has a $14.4 million option bonus in 2027. However, if the Eagles designate him as a post-June 1 cut, they will save $5 million.

Stay tuned.

Throw a Flag ... According to a Chester County police report, Barkley’s home was burglarized around 5 a.m. this past Saturday morning.

Authorities reported that no one in Barkley’s family was injured, and it was unclear if anyone was inside the home. By the time police arrived, suspects had fled the scene.

Supporting Cast ... Unlike the past few years, the Eagles appear to have some noticeable depth behind Barkley.

Jacksonville’s Tank Bigsby was acquired in a trade before Week Two last season, and proved to be a valuable asset. The 2023 third-round downhill runner had 63 carries for 356 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He had a 104-yard effort against the Giants Oct. 26, the same game Barkley ran for a season-high 150.

Bigsby is bound to get some more work this season, and he can catch passes out of the backfield.

There’s also free agent Dameon Pierce, who accumulated 939 yards as a rookie with Houston in 2022. But his numbers have since dwindled, and he appeared in just one game with the Chiefs last season.

Ironically, there’s a similar slate for free agent Elijah Mitchell, who had 963 yards as a rookie in San Francisco in 2021. His numbers also deflated, and he had a cup of coffee with Kansas City and New England last season.

Will Shipley, who has been a backup and primarily a kick returner for the past three seasons, is back as insurance.

PSU Proud ... Barkley was the Giants’ top pick and second overall in the 2018 draft, a pick that drew plenty of criticism.

But Barkley proved the critics wrong in his rookie season, running for 1,307 yards — third highest season total — and a career-high 91 receptions, a mark that is nearly double his next previous high (52).

At PSU, Barkley still holds seasonal rushing and touchdown records with 3,843 yards and 43 scores.

Will It Be Worth a Franklin? ... At Penn State these days, there is building speculation on whether the Nittany Lions’ fall last season was strictly on former coach James Franklin’s shoulders.

New coach Matt Campbell is already under the gun, and he likely will be throughout the season. Campbell, the former Iowa State boss, has a 5-5 record in bowl games. His last bowl victory was in 2024 in the Pop Tarts Bowl.

The Cyclones were ranked 22nd before the 2025 season, and they got as high as 12 last season, finishing their year with an 8-4 record.

Penn State will open the season against Marshall Sept. 5.

Time Passages ... In each column, I will recall a former player, coach or game situation from the gridiron.

After the 2014 season, then Eagles head coach Chip Kelley — in charge of transactions and the draft — wanted his former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, and the Birds had the 20th pick in the draft.

Kelly reportedly was ready to offer Tennessee — who had the second overall pick — a package of the 2015 first-round pick, a 2015 second-round pick, a 2016 first-round pick, and basically any player on the roster.

Sam Bradford and Marc Sanchez were the Eagles’ quarterback on the roster at the time. Kelly had dumped running back LeSean McCoy to the Bills, and Nick Foles — who threw 27 touchdown passes in 2013 — to the Rams.

Kelly was fired after his team went 6-9 in 2015.

Mariota eventually played with the Eagles in 2023 as a backup. In three games, he threw for 164 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Scrapbook ... In each column, I will look back at a former standout from the area.

Stephen Hluschak earned three varsity letters and was a team captain for Northern Lehigh. He caught a team record 62 passes in 1999, and was one of a few players who accounted for more than 1,000 yards rushing and receiving. In addition, he finished his high school career with 159 yards receiving with two touchdowns in the McDonald’s All-Star Football Classic.

Hluschak was a two-time All Colonial League choice, the Times News and the Blue Ridge Communications TV-13 Player of the Year in 1999; an All-State second team wide receiver in 1999; and Pennsylvania Football News First Team All-State in 1999.

He went on to continue his career at Lehigh University, where he earned four varsity letters and was a member of the Lambert Cup Champions in 2002, and Patriot League Champions in 2001 and 2002.

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