Philadelphia Eagles star RB Saquon Barkley clears the air on retirement plans

Philadelphia Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley gave fans a scare the other day when he talked about his future retirement plans during an appearance on "The Green Light podcast" with Chris Long. 

On the ex-Eagles defensive end's podcast, Barkley admitted that he would like to retire the way Barry Sanders did it -- without any warning. 

“I’ll probably be one of those guys that it’ll be out of nowhere," Barkley said. "I’ll probably just wake up one day, whether it’s next year or two years or four years, and just be like, ‘Yeah it’s over.' I don’t think I will ever lose that passion. I’m just a competitor...

"One of my favorite players of all time, probably my favorite player of all time, is Barry Sanders, so probably similar to that. Maybe one day it will be out of nowhere. I’ll probably be balling and just be like, yeah, and call it quits."

Sanders' retirement is still one of the most unexpected moments in NFL history. At just 31 years old, and still playing at an elite level, the Detroit Lions legend shocked everyone by walking away from the game in 1999.

There was no big announcement, no decline in performance, and no major injury. Sanders had just rushed for nearly 1,500 yards the year before. Then, out of nowhere, he faxed his retirement letter to a newspaper, and that was it. His teammates and coaches were even caught off guard. However, he later admitted that he was frustrated with the direction of the Lions and just felt like it was time to move on. 

While Barkley has plans to follow in Sanders' footsteps, he may have given fans a sigh of relief on Tuesday after the team's mandatory minicamp practice. 

“I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon," Barkley told reporters. 

Barkley is locked in with the Eagles through at least the 2028 NFL season, so any talk of retirement feels a little premature. He’s also still playing at an elite level with way too much gas left in the tank under an elite Philly offense.