Philadelphia Eagles' Saquon Barkley threw cold water on any notion that he was fearful about the notorious Madden curse. The superstar running back is coming off a phenomenal first season in the City of Brotherly Love. Barkley made himself a Philly legend as he spearheaded the franchise to its second-ever Super Bowl title. Saquon was rewarded this offseason with a fitting contract extension with the franchise.
Now the Eagles will head into the 2025 season looking to become the NFL's next dynasty. All eyes will be on Barkley, especially after he was featured on the cover of Madden 26. When asked whether he believed in curses, Saquon had the perfect response and then provided details on how this entire process went.
Does Saquon Barkley believe in curses? “Nah, I’m a believer in God.”
Great stuff from Saquon — including the real back story behind the Madden cover shoot. https://t.co/VdMlhVK9mv
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 2, 2025
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The Eagles have retained the bulk of their offense while going through some eye-opening defensive changes this offseason
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Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, center, holds the Vince Lombardi trophy during the Eagles Super Bowl championship parade on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.
Damian Giletto/Delaware News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Philadelphia squarely has a target on its back this coming season, and the upcoming schedule is brutal. Eleven of the 17 teams that the Eagles will play in 2025 made the postseason the previous year. In fact, head coach Nick Sirianni's squad has four looming matchups against the three teams that qualified for their respective conference championship games. But most of last season's team is back, including some new, encouraging additions.
With players such as Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, and now Bryce Huff now off the roster, the front office tried to continue building up its elite defensive unit. Philadelphia added several SEC standouts to its core, including Alabama star linebacker Jihaad Campbell. Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter will subsequently have to continue building upon their successful 2024 campaigns for the Eagles to regain the kind of dominance they had upfront last season.
Overall, Saquon Barkley and company have every reason they repeat as the Super Bowl winners. This run might be even harder than the previous year's, but the core of this roster has championship DNA and should be a legit contender heading into next postseason. If the star running back can have another All-Pro caliber season, he will have cemented himself as a future Hall of Famer, and, so long as he stays healthy, there's no reason to believe Barkley cannot do that.