Jordan Howard wants to return to Eagles, but doesn’t know what will happen when contract ends

Running back Jordan Howard said he’d like to be back in an Eagles jersey next season.

“I hope to be back,” Howard said, but he added that he’s not sure what will happen.

The 25-year-old, who’s in the final season of his rookie contract, has been recovering from a shoulder stinger he suffered late in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears on Nov. 3. At the time he was injured, he led the team in rushing. Since then, rookie Miles Sanders excelled in his absence.

Coach Doug Pederson has said Howard was making progress since returning to practice, in a limited capacity, after the Eagles’ Week 10 bye.

Howard sat out six games and was activated last week against the Giants, but he played only one snap as a decoy (on a play that got called back on a penalty). He was active again Sunday but did not play.

He said he had not expected to take the field Sunday, adding he could have gone in but wasn’t sure he would have been effective.

On the Eagles’ final offensive drive, a 39-yard pass-interference call on Seattle cornerback Tre Flowers put the Eagles in position to tie the game. While the red-zone drive came up short, the crucial call was drawn by Shelton Gibson.

The wide receiver was signed by the Eagles on Wednesday to fill the roster stop that was opened up when Brandon Brooks was placed on injured reserve. The 5-foot-11, 191-pound West Virginia product was drafted by the Eagles in the fifth round in 2017. He played in 15 games over two seasons, logging only three catches, and was released last August.

Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz wasn’t the only Eagles player injured Sunday.

Defensive end Brandon Graham went down with a knee injury during Seattle’s third possession, while Wentz was being evaluated in the blue sideline tent for a concussion.

The veteran tried to get up after a play was over and immediately fell back onto the turf. He eventually jogged off under his own power and was looked at on the bench. He was later taken to the locker room. He returned to play in the second half.

As many players headed to the locker room at halftime, Sanders was down, injured on the field. He walked off under his own power and brushed off the shake-up after the game.

“I stayed out there,” Sanders said. “I couldn’t let my boys go out like that. I owed them, at least, to fight."

In other injury news, right tackle Lane Johnson and wide receiver Nelson Agholor were ruled inactive before the 4:40 p.m. kickoff.

Johnson has been inactive since suffering a high ankle sprain in the Eagles’ first meeting with the Giants, on Dec. 9. Agholor (knee) was inactive for six of the last seven games. He is eligible to become a free agent in the offseason.

Quarterback Nate Sudfeld, defensive end Genard Avery, defensive end Shareef Miller, guard Sua Opeta, and running back Elijah Holyfield, the son of former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, were healthy scratches. Holyfield, an undrafted rookie out of Georgia, was picked up by the Eagles last Tuesday.