Eagles running back Saquon Barkley left Sunday's Week 2 game against the Titans going down after a carry and staying on the ground before being helped up. He was seen holding his left side as he made his way to the medical tent and then into the locker room. Philadelphia has since designated him questionable to return with a stinger.
A stinger, sometimes called a burner, is a nerve injury that typically results from the head or neck being forced away from the shoulder on contact, sending a jolt of pain, numbness, or weakness down the arm. It's a common football injury and usually resolves within minutes to days, though the symptoms can look alarming in the moment. If Barkley is cleared to return, players coming back from stingers will often wear an extra piece of padding around the neck and shoulder area, sometimes called a cowboy collar, to limit the range of motion that aggravates the nerve.
This isn't uncirculated territory for Barkley. He picked up a stinger in December of last season that briefly kept him out of practice, and he's also dealt with left shoulder soreness in-game before, needing treatment on the sideline during a Week 7 matchup last year before eventually returning to action. None of that history tells us how today's injury will shake out, but it does show he's managed similar issues without missing extended time in the past.
With Barkley out for now, expect Tank Bigsby to handle early-down work in the Eagles backfield, with Will Shipley also in the mix. Worth watching for the rest of the afternoon is whether Barkley gets loose on the sideline and works his way back into the game, which would be an encouraging sign that this is more of the same short-term stinger issue rather than something more serious.
