What are the Eagles’ running back options with Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby out?
With their two primary backs likely out Sunday, it's next man up for the Eagles.
The Eagles are likely to be without Saquon Barkley Sunday in London, according to a source. And with Tank Bigsby heading for a stint on injured reserve after suffering a core muscle injury that will require surgery, Will Shipley is the last running back standing on the active roster for the team’s Week 5 game in London.
Barkley is considered week-to-week, according to the NFL Network, with the hamstring injury that knocked him from Sunday’s loss after just four snaps.
The injuries put the Eagles in a tough spot at a key position. Barkley and Bigsby have combined for 64 carries through four games while Shipley has just 15. Shipley, a third-year running back drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round in 2024, has just one career game with double digit carries.
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That could change Sunday in London vs. Jacksonville, but the Eagles also have some reinforcements waiting on the practice squad, and they also could seek some help from outside the building.
Here’s a look at the three practice squad running backs, two of which could be on the gameday roster Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Dameon Pierce
Pierce is the most experienced running back in the building not named Barkley. A fourth-round pick in 2022 by the Houston Texans, Pierce started as a rookie and ran for 939 yards and four touchdowns on 220 carries while adding 30 receptions for 165 yards and another score.
Pierce struggled a bit in his second season. His per-carry average dropped from 4.3 yards to 2.9 and he ceded playing time to Devin Singletary.
By 2024, Pierce was a full-time backup and he also dealt with multiple injuries.
Pierce, who is 5-foot-10 and 218 pounds, was the third-string back in Houston last year before being released in November. He then spent time on Kansas City’s practice squad before joining the Eagles in the offseason. Pierce, 26, had a solid start to camp and looked capable of pushing for a roster spot, but a hamstring injury made that impossible.
Jaydon Blue
Blue was a fifth-round pick out of Texas by the Cowboys in 2025. He played sparingly — 38 carries for 129 yards and one touchdown in five appearances — as a rookie and then was released by the team after training camp this season.
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Blue, 22, is a smaller back at 5-foot-9 and 198 pounds. He ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the 2025 combine.
Carson Steele
The darling of the three-game preseason schedule landed on the practice squad. Steele had 59 rushing yards and 14 catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns during the preseason.
The 23-year-old was undrafted out of UCLA by way of Ball State. He spent his first two NFL seasons with the Chiefs. In 2024, Kansas City used him primarily as a fullback. He played in all 17 games and 56 carries for 183 yards and seven catches for 26 yards.
He spent the 2025 season on Kansas City’s practice squad.
Staff writer Jeff McLane contributed reporting.
