Why Saquon Barkley was 'in hell'? And how it fits at Eagles' training camp
PHILADELPHIA − On the Eagles' first day of training camp on July 23, we heard all of the platitudes about putting the Super Bowl behind them.
That officially happened five nights earlier, when the Eagles got their rings, although quarterback Jalen Hurts would not wear his at the ceremony.
"It was a moment, and now that moment is behind us," Hurts said.
Then he added: "It’s a new journey. It’s a new season. Those things are far behind us. The past is behind us, and the future is too far away. We have to stay in the present and worry about right now. ... And right now, it’s the time to build the foundation to do so."
That resonated with the rest of the team, too.
Saquon Barkley certainly had the best season for an Eagles running back in team history, rushing for 2,005 yards, and becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to surpass 2,000 yards.
Jul 23, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) warms up during training camp at NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
There was a certain backward hurdle that was all the rage, too.
Again, all in the past.
"No matter if you won a Super Bowl, had a great year, an All-Pro, what you did the year prior, it has nothing to do with this year coming up," Barkley said. "We're the 2024 Super Bowl champions. The next season has nothing to do with that."
Or as left tackle Jordan Mailata put it, with a few curse words thrown in for emphasis:
"We're not defending nothing. We're not the defending champs," Mailata said. "We're the 2024 World Champions. That's it. We're not defending (expletive). We're not.
"We just won the title, and now we got to go win it again. Prove it all over again, and that's the mentality this team is going to have."
It's one thing to say it, however. It's another to do it.
To that end, the first days of training camp certainly won't determine whether the Eagles will repeat, er, continue their sustained success, or whatever word besides "repeat" they care to use.
But these early days of training camp can help set the tone.
For example, the Eagles are returning 10 out of 11 starters on an offense that was already dynamic beyond Barkley. There's no adjustment period necessary. That includes the Eagles' new offensive coordinator in Kevin Patullo, who's really new just in title because he's been on the staff since head coach Nick Sirianni arrived in 2021.
Patullo might change things somewhat, and he should, considering that opponents will no doubt try to copy what the Chiefs did to Barkley in the Super Bowl, holding him to 57 yards on 25 carries.
"I was in hell, for sure," Barkley said. "But the beauty of playing for the Eagles? We have the right guys around us. Whatever teams want to do, it's gonna be pick your poison."
The Chiefs picked their poison. Hurts opened up the passing game, while also running for 72 yards, enabling the Eagles to take a 34-0 lead on their way to a 40-22 victory.
And the Eagles showed they could adjust on the first day of training camp. That's when Brown mentioned a long completion he and Hurts had in practice.
"Me and Jalen just said two things to each other, and it was simple," Brown said. "That comes with experience and time. That’s why it’s important to have those guys in the offense, familiar faces, because you know each other, you know the body language.
"You know the verbiage, and that’s very helpful."
The defense is a different story, with at least five new starters, and perhaps one of the youngest defenses in the NFL.
Sure, young players like Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean had huge roles on the Super Bowl team.
But the tone set by the team leaders rubs off on them too. It's why Mitchell at cornerback still takes it upon himself as a challenge to cover Brown. And he did, breaking up a deep pass intended for Brown, even though the referee threw a flag for defensive pass interference.
Brown actually said it was a clean play and shouldn't have been flagged. It's also why Brown gave DeJean a new nickname.
"It’s part of my responsibility, part of our responsibility as wide receivers, is to get those guys ready and vice versa," Brown said. "I joke around with (DeJean) all the time. I call him All Pro Coop, APC, because it’s gonna be a year for him.
"I’m not trying to put pressure on him, but I tell him all the time, I’ll make you All-Pro, and that starts in camp, every day."
There's a purpose to all of this.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman built the roster around star players and youth, hoping to maximize the players in their prime, while replenishing the roster with young players who can eventually earn second lucrative contracts.
It was different from the Eagles' first Super Bowl in 2017, when Roseman tried to hang on with an aging roster that barely made the playoffs the next two seasons before imploding in 2020.
"When I look back at that moment, there were a lot of lessons," Roseman said. "There are teams that are improving throughout the offseason that we gotta keep up with. We gotta do whatever it takes to put our best team forward and our best foot forward.
"Those are hard decisions. Those are hard conversations, and they’re not fun. But at the end of the day, we have a responsibility to continue to get better as a team. Sometimes that means making some changes. We made some changes."
But none of it works without the right attitude.
So it hardly mattered to the Eagles that it was the first official training camp practice as Super Bowl champions.
"It feels the same," Sirianni said. "You have a lot of steps to go, and daily work to put in. So every year at training camp feels the same. You're not looking back. You're not looking forward. You're solely focused on today and how we can get better today."
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why Saquon Barkley was 'in hell'? And how it fits in Eagles' training camp mentality
