While imitation is often a form of flattery, there's one circumstance where Barry Sanders would rather not see Saquon Barkley follow in his footsteps.
A Hall of Fame running back for the Detroit Lions, Sanders authored arguably the most shocking retirement in the history of sports when he decided to hang up his cleats for good just before the start of the 1999 season. Sanders' decision to retire at age 31 and at the peak of his powers was recently alluded to by Barkley, who said that can see himself retiring in a similar fashion, perhaps as early as next offseason.
"I would say, maybe after the Lions win a Super Bowl, and I feel like the Eagles have a chance to maybe win another one," Sanders told CBS Sports when asked what type of advice he would give to Barkley in light of his recent retirement comments. "So, you should stick around for a little while. As a fan, I'm enjoying watching him play. I still see him as still being very young. I'm excited with what he's been able to do in Philadelphia, and really, just his journey. He was written off by the Giants, and to see the kind of year he had last year, I know he still has a lot of great years left in him."
Barkley, 28, is coming off one of the greatest seasons a running back has ever put together. In addition to becoming the ninth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a regular season (a fraternity that also includes Sanders, who rushed for 2,053 yards during the 1997 season), Barkley broke Terrell Davis' record for the most rushing yards in an entire season. Including the postseason, Barkley rushed for a whopping 2,504 yards, trumping Davis' previous mark of 2,476 yards.
Last year, Barkley also joined Davis and fellow Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith as the only players to win a rushing title and a Super Bowl in the same year. Not bad for a player who, as Sanders alluded to, was essentially cut loose by the Giants last offseason.
Given his current situation in Philadelphia, Sanders is clearly a proponent of Barkley prolonging his career. And while Barkley's recent retirement comments were surprising, Sanders said that it was somewhat understandable.
"Sometimes, players feel that [way], and once they get into camp and into the season, they feel different," Sanders said. "Philadelphia feels like a great place, a great home for him, so hopefully it's just sort of a temporary thing that he's experiencing, that he'll continue to enjoy the success there with that great team that they've assembled. I'm pretty sure he and the Lions will be fighting it out to get to the big one this year and years to come. But I wish him the best with whatever he decides to do, though."
It appears, based on his comments this week at Eagles minicamp, that Barkley plans to take Sanders' advice.
"I don't think I'll ever lose the passion for the game," Barkley said. "The retiring thing, I think that caught a little fire on social media. I don't plan on retiring any time soon. The question was asked of me, and I don't have a set date, or how many years I want to play.
"I would love to play this game as long as God lets me, and my body lets me, so that's really it."
