The Eagles made a quiet but meaningful move on Saturday, placing second-round pick Eli Stowers on Injured Reserve as they trimmed their Week 1 options ahead of the opener.
Stowers is dealing with both quadriceps and hamstring injuries. He had been limited in practice all week because of a hamstring issue that surfaced in the preseason, and the rookie tight end was listed as questionable for Week 1. On Friday, Stowers even said he expected to play.
That changed after he reported discomfort in his leg. Digital imaging revealed a quadriceps strain that is expected to require several weeks of rehab. The IR designation means Stowers must miss at least four games before he can be eligible to return.
For the Eagles, the timing is especially frustrating because Stowers had already had a difficult training camp before the preseason injury. The Vanderbilt product was taken No. 54 overall as a developmental prospect, but he struggled through the summer and didn’t show much.
When asked Friday about staying patient if production doesn’t come right away, Stowers said, “Everybody’s road and development, it’s different for every single person,” Stowers said on Friday. “Really just every single day you want to come to work with the attitude that you want to get better and just put your best foot forward every single day.
That’s really all you can do. Just focus on what you can control and that’s what I remind myself of.”
With Stowers out against the Commanders, the Eagles’ tight end group will be Dallas Goedert, Johnny Mundt and E.J. Jenkins.
The other roster wrinkle Saturday involved Britain Covey. Rather than promote him to the 53-man roster, the Eagles elevated him from the practice squad, leaving him with two elevations remaining this season.
Covey, 29, brings plenty of punt-return experience, with 79 career returns and a 11.3-yard average. He looks like the safest option for the job right now, though first-round pick Makai Lemon could eventually take over.
In Other News...
Nick Sirianni Faces An Early Eagles Test Fans Will Feel Fast
Nick Sirianni enters the season with plenty of winning history behind him, but also with a fresh round of scrutiny after the Eagles offense drew criticism during the 2025 campaign. The coaching staff has already made a notable change by bringing in Sean Mannion as the new offensive coordinator, a move that signals an effort to reset the conversation around a unit that never quite met expectations under Kevin Patullo.
The timing of it all makes Week 1 against the Washington Commanders especially relevant, because early games tend to shape the public mood around a coach as much as the standings do. Sirianni has built a 59-26 regular-season record over five years and has never missed the playoffs, but the opening stretch now carries a different kind of weight, with fans likely to judge quickly whether the new setup looks like a real fix or just the first chapter in another season of questions. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Suddenly Have A Week 1 WR2 Question Fans Can't Ignore
The Eagles head into Week 1 with a real question beyond A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and it starts with who settles into the next role at receiver. Makai Lemon has been working through a hamstring issue from camp, which has slowed his start, and that opens the door for Dontayvion Wicks to matter more than expected in the early part of the season. For a passing game that already leans heavily on its top two wideouts, the competition for those next targets is worth watching closely.
Wicks brings some familiarity from his time with the Green Bay Packers, and his profile has already shown up in the betting market as well, where his receiving yard total against Washington has drawn attention. The prop action suggests people are looking beyond just the obvious names in Philadelphia, and if Wicks can carve out a steady share of the offense, the Eagles could have a much different Week 1 receiver rotation than many expected a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Just Created A New Week 1 Tight End Concern
The Eagles headed into Week 1 with one more adjustment to their tight end room after placing Eli Stowers on injured reserve because of hamstring and quadriceps injuries. The move means Stowers cannot return to the active roster until after Week 4, a notable setback for a player who had been limited in practice but was still expected to be available before the injury situation caught up to him.
Britain Covey was temporarily elevated from the practice squad for the opener, giving Philadelphia a little more flexibility as it sorts through the early-season roster. For a team already trying to settle its offense, losing a tight end option this early adds another layer of uncertainty to a position group that now has to absorb the absence and move on quickly. [Read more 🡒]