The Eagles now have two freakishly strong athletes on their squad. Philadelphia stunned the NFL at the start of free agency by signing former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal. The Eagles now have two freakishly strong athletes on their squad.
Philadelphia stunned the NFL at the start of free agency by signing former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal. Barkley earned the nickname ‘Quadzilla’ for his monstrously muscular legs, while Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is a former power-lifting extraordinaire.
Saquon recently appeared on Jason and Travis Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ podcast and was asked by the former Philly center whether he could beat his new teammate in a squatting challenge. “Who can squat more – you or Jalen Hurts?” Jason asked Barkley. “That’s not even close,” Saquon confidently responded. “You think it’s not even close?” Travis interjected. “Jalen’s got you?” he cheekily asked.
“I don’t do that [squat] anymore but when I was really in that mindset of squatting I would put myself up there with a lot of people,” Barkley went on. Jason then said he was currently watching a clip of Saquon squatting 585 pounds, which Barkley did once he was in the pros. “It’s not even remotely difficult [for Barkley],” an impressed Jason commented.
Barkley appeared on the Kelce’s podcast recently
“I don’t max out anymore,” Saquon added. “Those days are one of those days when you just push and try it.” “I’m a better one rep max squatter,” he went on. “The most I’ve ever put on my back was probably 600 [pounds]. [But] we don’t do one rep max now.” “Jalen’s strong,” he added. “He’s probably the strongest quarterback in the NFL.”
Jason then mentioned Hurts’ power-lifting days and it’s fair to say the signal caller is no slouch when it comes to jacking up huge weights. “Everybody knows you’re the ‘Squat Machine’,'” Jason once said to Hurts on his podcast. “They just don’t let that one go,” Hurts laughed in response.
As a youngster, Jalen competing in power-lifting meets, and as a sophomore he successfully squatted 440 pounds. At a meet during his junior year in high school he squatted 570 pounds while also bench-pressing 275 pounds and dead-lifting 585 pounds. He transferred to Oklahoma in 2019 where he shocked fans and teammates alike by squatting 600 pounds in the Sooners’ weight room.
Only three other guys, all linemen, were able to get past Hurts’ lift. “You ain’t squatting that much though now,” Jason Kelce told his former teammate on his podcast. “I could,” Hurts responded, who happened to complete a 620-pound deadlift in the 2021 offseason.
With the addition of Barkley, Nick Sirianni’s team now has two of the most formidable rushers in the game. The Eagles still have their defensive deficiencies but their high-powered offense is among the best in the league. “I’m really excited about Saquon and the things that he can do,” Sirianni recently said. “You know he’s such a dynamic football player. Both as a running back and also the things he can do as a pass catcher. He’s going to bring an element to our offense and to our team.”
Hurts excels as a dual-threat quarterback but the acquisition of Barkley suggests the Eagles are planning to move away from being so reliant on Hurts being the focal point of their offense. We’ll see how that plays out in real time during the Eagles’ Week 1 game of the new season, which takes place in Brazil and airs exclusively on Peacock, much to the annoyance of fans.
