Sean Mannion gets 100% real on the Eagles playing without Saquon Barkley’s ‘unique talent’ appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
If the Philadelphia Eagles had to play a football game tonight, it’s entirely possible their entire running backs rotation would be comprised of players who weren’t even on the 53-man roster in Week 1, with Saquon Barkley missing Week 5 with a hamstring injury, Tank Bigsby on IR, and Will Shipley suffering a partial tear of his plantar fascia that could leave him out of action in the short term.
Discussing what it’s been like to play without many of Philly’s top playmakers with reporters on Tuesday, Sean Mannion singled Barkley out in particular as a player he’s been missing, as his “unique talent” makes him hard to replace.
“I think it all goes back to putting all of your players in what you feel is the best position for them to be successful. Saquon is a unique talent. That’s indisputable, right? So, there are things that he can do that there’s a very, very, very short list of people on the planet that can do. The beauty of it is I do feel really confident in our depth. [RB] Tank [Bigsby] going out due to injury, but he’s a really, really quality backup running back in this league.” Mannion said.
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“So, there may be some things that change when Saquon goes out and Tank goes in, but the nice thing is with the depth that we have at that position, just as an example, it’s not as many as you might expect because of the depth of our roster, the confidence we have in those guys. So, there’s tweaks here and there that come up with different injuries, whether it be at the running back position, receiver position, O-line, but in large, the confidence that we have in our group makes it where that’s easier to manage than you may think.”
As things presently stand, Philly only has two healthy running backs on their active roster, Dameon Pierce and Carson Steele, plus a few practice squad options in Jaydon Blue and recently signed Ja’Quinden Jackson. But if Barkley can return for Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers, maybe the Eagles will be able to finally get their offense back on track, as Mannion’s evaluation of his game is more than on point.
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