RADIO
When is Saquon Barkley coming back? Will Saquon Barkley play again this season? Read about Saquon Barkley's return date and injury updates for 2026.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (hamstring) pulled up on a run to the sidelines and exited his Week 4 game with a hamstring injury. Barkley has missed just six games in his last four seasons, so it's not common to see him on the sidelines for that reason.
The Eagles' season hasn't been going well, and even when Barkley was healthy, he was just a shadow of his former self. It appears the days of him busting off huge runs seemingly every game are gone, and the offense has regressed massively.
It can be unwise to bet against a player of such talent, though, even when he's coming back from injury. And it's unclear exactly how severe the ailment is. So what's the latest news on his injury, and what should the rest of his season look like in fantasy football?
Editor's Note: The FFPC Baby Gorilla Tournament is now open, featuring a $100,000 grand prize and a $675,450 total prize pool! This 12-team, Tight End Premium contest uses a 20-round draft format, with the overall winners determined by total points scored during Weeks 15–17. Get $25 to use toward your first entry by signing up through our link. Grab your team now! Sign Up Now!
Saquon Barkley Injury Update for Fantasy Football
Barkley's hamstring issue isn't considered severe. He's not on injured reserve, and after missing just one week after his injury, the Eagles are hopeful he can return for Week 6. A return timeline is thus likely either this week or next week.
Hamstring ailments have a high rate of recurrence, and age is not on Barkley's side, as he's 29 this season. Monitoring him at practice will be key -- if he turns in a full practice at any point, he'll likely be good to go, though he could have his reps managed in his first game back to help ease the load on his injured muscle.
A nearly 240-pound running back sprinting at full speed puts a massive amount of load on his hamstrings, naturally.
Saquon Barkley Fantasy Football Outlook
Barkley's season has been unproductive, and it seems like there's little chance he lives up to his draft capital in fantasy football leagues. He was seen as a potential value in the second round, but last season's red flags have now been shown to be indicators of a full-blown collapse in his fantasy value.
The Eagles offense hasn't improved despite firing last season's offensive coordinator, Kevin Patullo. Philadelphia traded away its top wideout, A.J. Brown (ankle), to the New England Patriots, and Eagles WR1 DeVonta Smith (hamstring) has now missed two games with a hamstring problem of his own.
Jalen Hurts is 31st in the NFL in success rate!
Worse than Malik Willis, Cam Ward, Geno Smith and Justin Herbert! https://t.co/cscAxxAq8n
— BleedGreenSports (@bleedgrnsports) October 12, 2026
Multiple seasons of having a historically good offensive line have come to an end. Elite center Jason Kelce retired after the 2023 season, elite left tackle Lane Johnson recently announced his retirement, and left guard Landon Dickerson (knee) is currently on injured reserve.
Kelce, Johnson, Dickerson, and left tackle Jordan Mailata collectively formed an offensive line that opened up gigantic holes for Barkley. OL coach Jeff Stoutland is regarded as one of the best in history, and he's gone too. Philly's OL play has taken a massive step back, and Barkley doesn't have much space to run anymore.
SAQUON ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
📺: #WASvsPHI on FOX
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/26534Ls9Mx— NFL (@NFL) January 26, 2025
Plays like the one above just aren't happening anymore. Instead, Barkley averages just 2.5 yards before contact per attempt. He doesn't have much of a receiving role and only carried the ball 34 times in his first three games. Just over 11 rushes and exactly one reception per game isn't enough to make him a fantasy RB1.
He's failed to score a touchdown or reach double-digit PPR fantasy points across any of his games this season. Unfortunately, if you drafted him, you pretty much have to keep starting him and hope things get better. But right now, he looks like a league-losing pick.
Perhaps you could sell him and fetch a reasonable price, but his trade value isn't high right now, and it's unlikely you would get a quality starting RB anyway. He's looking like a mid-end RB2 for the rest of the season, but the production isn't there, and the environment isn't either.
Who Should I Start Tool
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Week 6 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Saquon Barkley, Dameon Pierce, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 6.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 6 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 6 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 6 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 6 for Saquon Barkley, Dameon Pierce, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
