Sirianni undecided on Barkley status but points to ’21 Smith call

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni hasn’t decided whether he’ll let Saquon Barkley attempt to break the NFL’s single-season rushing record Sunday, but he says he’ll talk to everyone in the organization, including owner Jeffrey Lurie, before making that call.

Barkley needs 101 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s NFL record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984, but the Eagles (13-3) have clinched the NFC East division title and are locked into the NFC’s No. 2 seed. That makes Sunday’s game against the New York Giants a prime chance for Sirianni to rest his starters in anticipation of the Eagles’ wild-card playoff game the following week.

“I’ll talk to our staff, I’ll talk to the players, I’ll talk to [general manager] Howie [Roseman], I’ll talk to Mr. Lurie. I’ll talk to everybody to try and make sure I’m making the best decision for the football team,” Sirianni said Tuesday during his weekly interview with 94WIP radio in Philadelphia.

Sirianni said the question he asks himself is, “What’s the best thing for the team, and then also, what’s the best things for the individuals going for the record?”

Sirianni’s next media availability will be Wednesday where it’s possible he will announce his decision on the playing status for Barkley and the Eagles’ other starters.

Although he hasn’t yet made any decisions, he did point out that he played wide receiver DeVonta Smith in the 2021 season finale so he could break DeSean Jackson‘s franchise rookie receiving yards record but rested other players. Smith caught three passes for 41 yards in the finale against the Dallas Cowboys to finish with 916 yards on the season and the rookie record.

“If you think back a couple of years ago to 2021, Smitty was going for the rookie receiver record. Everybody else was resting, but we wanted for everyone else — whatever it was — we didn’t play some other guys in that game, but we went and got him that record,” Sirianni said. “Every situation is a little different. Not saying one way or the other or how that’s going to play out or even that I made a decision yet.”

On Sunday, after becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, Barkley said he’ll be fine with whatever Sirianni decides.

“Whatever his decision is, I’m all for it,” Barkley said. “If his mindset is, we’ll go out there and try it, I’ll go out there and try it. If his mindset is, let’s rest and get ready for this run, I’m all for that, too … I came here to do something special. Breaking a record is special, but I want a banner up there. I think we all do.”

ESPN’s Tim McManus contributed to this report.