The Philadelphia Eagles, following their Sunday Night Football loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 8, are now 2-6 on the 2026 regular season. They currently own a top-five draft pick.

With the Eagles likely headed for a top-10 pick, as Jalen Hurts is done for the year, Lane Johnson has retired, and Howie Roseman is likely to sell some players by the trade deadline, now is the time for the Eagles to make a big Saquon Barkley decision.

He's playing well below 100% right now, and with the year pretty much over, the Eagles should listen to Jimmy Kempski of The Philly Voice and shut down Barkley for the remainder of the year. There are a few obvious reasons why this makes sense.

Why Eagles should shut down Saquon Barkley for rest of 2026

"If the Eagles are not trading Saquon Barkley, then he is obviously in their long-term plans," Kempski shared on Twitter/x. "He has made clear that his body is not where it needs to be. It would be malpractice not to protect a star player who is not healthy in a lost season."

The Eagles' season is pretty much over. They're 2-6, and likely to sell at the trade deadline. But, when it comes to Barkley, the Eagles have made it clear they don't plan to trade him away.

Barkley isn't likely to be traded, meaning he's in their future plans for the 2027 season. With that in mind, in a lost season, it would make sense to shut down Barkley for the remainder of the 2026 season.

He's playing hurt right now, dealing with hamstring and back injuries. It doesn't make sense to keep trotting out Barkley week after week when he's playing hurt in a year that's become meaningless for the Eagles.

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There is no benefit to playing Barkley this season. It would make a lot more sense to sit him for the rest of the year, have him heal up properly for 2027, in what might be the last chance this iteration of the Eagles has before things really get torn apart.

But, for at least 2026, there is just about no hope for a playoff run, and even if they miraculously made it, their odds of winning it all are slim to none.

With the Eagles planning to keep Barkley through the trade deadline, it makes little sense to continue to play him while he's clearly hurt. Shutting him down might not be popular, but it would be the right decision for the future of the franchise.

It's time for the Eagles to tank, and shutting Barkley down to get fully healthy would make perfect sense. Besides, they might be getting Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley back from IR soon. That would help decide to shut down Barkley a lot easier.

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