Saquon Barkley was back on the practice field Friday afternoon, giving the Eagles at least one encouraging sign as they head toward Sunday Night Football against the Commanders.
Barkley had missed the first two days of the week before returning to work at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. He has been dealing with hamstring and back issues, but still suited up in Monday night’s 38-21 loss to the Cowboys and produced despite not being close to full strength. In that game, he ran for 62 yards and a touchdown on seven carries and added two catches for nine yards.
Even with Barkley back in practice, the Eagles were still missing several key names Friday: DeVonta Smith (hamstring), Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), Jihaad Campbell (hamstring/quad), Britain Covey (knee) and Jonathan Jones (hamstring).
The team is set to release its game statuses for Sunday night later Friday, but Barkley’s return after a two-day absence at least opens the door for him to play. That question matters even more with the Eagles working through a thin backfield this week, with Elijah Mitchell and Jaydon Blue the only healthy running backs available.
“We’ll see at the end of this,” head coach Nick Sirianni said on Friday morning. “And so guys are having a good week of preparation.
Feel good about that room. Obviously, we’ve been beat up in that room with injuries.
But I feel good about the depth and the guys that we have.
“I was really excited about Elijah throughout camp and then he got dinged up in camp and just really glad to have him back. And always have liked Jaydon and the things he can do going back to watching him coming out of Texas.
Feel good about that room. Obviously, a little beat up in that room and looking forward to when we can get guys back.
But I’m excited about these guys that are going to go out there and rip it.”
If Smith, Wicks and Covey are unavailable, the receiving group for Sunday night would be Makai Lemon, Darius Cooper, Elijah Moore and Hollywood Brown. Lemon appears likely to handle punt return duties as well.
There was also movement on the injury front for the limited players from Thursday: all of them practiced again Friday. That includes Nolan Smith, who is recovering from a concussion, and Marcus Epps, who was evaluated for a concussion on Thursday.
In Other News...
Eagles Suddenly Have A Backfield Problem They Can't Ignore
The Eagles backfield has gone from a luxury to a concern in a hurry, with injuries thinning the running back room to the point where Elijah Mitchell and Jaydon Blue are the only healthy options. Mitchell, who joined Philadelphia this summer, was briefly cut before being brought back, and he saw action in Week 7 as the team tried to patch together a workable rotation. Saquon Barkley is still the preferred answer when available, but the group around him has become increasingly fragile.
Mitchell is now in position to take on a much larger role in Week 8 against the Washington Commanders, with the Eagles needing someone steady enough to help keep the offense on schedule. Blue remains in the mix, but the bigger issue is whether Philadelphia can get enough stability from a unit that has been hit hard at the wrong time. For a team built to lean on balance, the next few days could determine how much flexibility the Eagles really have in the run game. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Suddenly Look Thin In One Area Before Washington
The Eagles injury report is starting to look like a depth chart problem as much as a health update. With Week 8 against Washington approaching, six players were out of practice for a second straight day, leaving Philadelphia to sort through a growing list of absences while trying to keep its game plan intact.
Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith were among the names sidelined again, and their continued absence stands out because both are central to what Philadelphia wants to do on offense. Add in the other missed practices and the fact that 14 more players were limited or full participants, and the Eagles are suddenly managing a roster that looks thinner than usual at a key point in the week. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Rough Start Just Reignited The Jalen Hurts Future Debate
A rough stretch has a way of turning every Eagles conversation back to the quarterback position, and Jalen Hurts is once again at the center of it. Hurts is out for the season because of blood clots, though the expectation is that he will recover, and the teams current skid has only added more noise around what comes next for Philadelphia at the games most important spot.
Hurts is still under contract through 2028 and holds a no-trade clause, but the long view is where the uncertainty starts to creep in. With the Eagles future quarterback plans still very much in the speculative stage, the debate has shifted from whether they need to think ahead to how aggressively they might eventually do it. [Read more 🡒]