In just his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, running back Saquon Barkley delivered an MVP-caliber campaign that culminated in a Super Bowl title. Now, heading into training camp in 2026, the two-time Pro Bowler is opening up on a divisive part of the NFL calendar he’s never quite warmed up to.

After two days of banging heads with the New England Patriots, Barkley had enough.

“I’m the wrong guy to ask because I hate joint practices, to be honest. I think one day is good,” Barkley said on Thursday when asked about the benefits of the system (via ESPN). “More times than not, nothing good comes out of it. When you have the work, it’s good, but then you get the pushing, the shoving, and someone says this about you, and it’s ‘I don’t know about that, but you’re this.’ It’s immature when you get to that level. I have to do a better job, too, because I’m a little troublemaker sometimes, but I was good this week.”

But here’s the thing. Barkley isn’t actually against joint practices as a whole, because football itself is built on physicality. But according to him, players should be able to walk away from the extra pushing and shoving in practice instead of letting it snowball, which was not the case during their practice with the Patriots. Moreover, a similar pattern was seen in the Dallas Cowboys’ joint practice with the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday, when the NFL had to step in and fine both teams $500,000 for the fight-filled practice.

“Obviously football is a physical game within itself, and it’s just a little extra pushing and shoving,” Saquon Barkley further added. “We’ve also got to do a better job of not allowing that to have a factor in our practice.”

So this wasn’t Barkley trashing the whole format, but the uncontrolled chaos, which can lead to injuries among other issues. He actually gave head coach Nick Sirianni credit for knowing how to “create chaos in practice during drills.” But Barkley couldn’t deny that teams definitely benefit when they get new opponents to face over just their own guys.

While his criticism of joint practices made headlines, he also made sure to separate his frustration from the Patriots specifically.

“I think they’re a great team,” Barkley said. “I think they’re a well-coached team. I’m not gonna really get into speaking about individuals; I think they’re a great team. There’s a reason why they made it as far as they did last year, but it’s a new year. It’s a new start, and we’re all trying to see where we’re at.”

Not everyone in the building shares Barkley’s frustration, though. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio walked away with the complete opposite takeaway.

“I love doing these things. I think these things are great,” Fangio said. “I wish we would do another one. It’s great to go against a new team, new schemes, new players. You learn things. You’re going to get unscouted looks and plays and see how people react. These things are tremendous and can’t get enough of it.”

For Fangio, the inter-team face-offs naturally produce favorable analytics from a coaching point of view. He got an early glimpse into the competitor’s plans and also found holes, if any, in the Eagles’ defense that maybe weren’t exposed in the intra-team practice plays.

However, offensive tackle Jordan Mailata landed closer to Barkley’s side of things, feeling like the physicality actually hurt more than it helped. After watching players shove each other around after the whistle on Thursday, Mailata felt the offensive line simply didn’t play its best football that day.

His final verdict? The Eagles need to focus on “less boxing and more football.”

Eagles-Patriots joint practice turns physical on Day 2

Thursday’s practice was basically a live demonstration of what Saquon Barkley had been talking about. The Eagles and Patriots pushed each other’s buttons all day long. Between the multiple scrums, the shoving after whistles, and constant chirping between both sidelines, this was not your typical practice atmosphere.

At one point, coaches had to step in and calm Barkley down after things got heated between Philly’s offense and New England’s defense. It kicked off when a Patriots defender laid Barkley out, and Lane Johnson immediately jumped to his defense. That sparked a short scuffle, and the tension really never let up.

“That’s bound to happen after Day 2,” Barkley said.

In another moment, Johnson and Patriots linebacker K.J. Britt got into it, each grabbing the other’s face mask. It backed up exactly what Barkley had said earlier; most of the physical stuff came from Philly’s offense clashing with New England’s defense.

Despite the chirpiness, most people felt the joint sessions did the Eagles some good, especially with Sean Mannion’s new offense taking shape. Barkley ripped off several sold runs, and the wide zone run scheme seemed to click. The passing game is still a work in progress though, with Jalen Hurts throwing five picks across both days.

Drake Maye had a tougher Thursday too, throwing two interceptions in 11-on-11s and struggling in the red zone. One thing working in New England’s favor was their run defense, which looked noticeably better than Wednesday. Marcus Jones also picked off Hurts twice.

Both teams face off again Saturday night for their Week 2 preseason game at Gillette Stadium. And this time, the intensity they showed in joint practices will only take a step up without the safety net of complaining about excess physicality to fall back on.