The alarm sounded on the first offensive play the Eagles used in Nashville on Sunday when Saquon Barkley was slammed down for no gain. He took a few seconds to get off the ground and then ran to the sideline with his left arm just sort of hanging there.
“It was just the first bad one I had in a long time,” he said on Friday as the Eagles prepare to play the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
“Football, your neck could get put in certain ways. (It was) like a wake-up call to me. I’ve been very super-active, focusing on my lower body and longevity in my career. … probably wasn’t as great as I needed to be with my neck stability and strength in my neck, so it’s like just putting that within my routine and having that part of my process and kind of the same way I attack everything from head to toe, do the same thing with my neck.”
Neck stingers can end careers. They contributed to the end of former Eagles fullback Kevin Turner’s career. Jordan Howard had a couple of them during his time with the Eagles that contributed to the end of a career that saw him play just 23 games over the final five years of a career that spanned seven seasons.
Barkley said he is good to go for Monday night, but will likely wear a neck collar for added protection.
“Nerve things are scary,” he said. “Like I said, it’s football. It’s not the first thing I ever got. It won’t be the last, but some are worse than others. And the most important thing, we had our trainers did a really good job of protecting (me).”
The medical personnel did their best. Barkley was seen patrolling the sidelines making a fist over and over with his left hand. After regaining his strength, he lobbied to go back into the game. He was on the field for the first play of the second half, but not for many more. He played 12 snaps, rushing for nine yards on just four carries in the Eagles’ 24-20 win over the Titans.
“They (the training staff) put me in a position to allow me to go out there after I kind of begged for it,” said Barkley, “but I also told them at the same time that I’m going to protect myself. If I feel something, you got my word. … I’m just happy that they allowed me, they trust me enough to go out there. I know it made a lot of people upset, but I wouldn’t change that. I want to be out there competing for my team.
“Sadly, it didn’t go the way I would have liked it, but I got a chance to go back out there this week. … I feel I’m in a good spot and just gonna let the game come, and I’m gonna go out there and play fearless.”
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