Eagles rookie Eli Stowers saw a ‘good first step’ Sunday in a season that hasn’t gone as planned
Stowers comes off his highest-visibility and statistically most productive game as a pro. Can the rookie second-rounder build on it?
It was a relatively meaningless play. The result of the game was decided. The Eagles were down 17 points and 42 yards away from the end zone with two seconds left.
The stadium was emptying. Eagles fans watching back home in the Delaware Valley probably already had their sleep masks on.
Tanner McKee dropped back and threw short to rookie tight end Eli Stowers, who turned upfield and saw nothing but space. With the help of a block from Darius Cooper, he got by one Washington defender and had three to beat as he stepped inside the 20-yard line.
Sure, the game was over, but it took all three guys to get Stowers down.
“I was hoping I could drag them in there,” Stowers said on Wednesday.
There likely will be a lot more meaningless moments to come from the rest of this Eagles season, but they all are meaningful for players like Stowers who are logging their firsts in the NFL. The second-round pick is finally healthy, and the three catches he had Sunday — even though two of them came in garbage time — helped his confidence, he said.
» READ MORE: Eagles turn to Joe Milton, the first of two QB auditions they must stage to make the most of 2026
This hasn’t been the rookie season Stowers envisioned, and likely not the one the Eagles imagined when they selected him 54th in the draft. The Eagles raved about the former quarterback turned tight end and thought his athleticism and size could create mismatches on offense.
But Stowers had a slow start to training camp and wasn’t a big factor in the offense, even when playing with the backups. He then suffered a hamstring injury late in camp before a curious first week of the regular season that had him say publicly that he thought he was playing only to be placed on injured reserve before the game.
It took about seven weeks, Stowers said, for his body to get back to normal after hamstring and quad injuries stunted the start of his NFL career and kept him from making his debut until Week 7.
“Sometimes injuries like that, you can’t do anything about it,” he said. “You take care of your body the best way you can. Get good sleep, eat right, drink, do all the stuff. But sometimes you just can’t do anything about it.”
Stowers said he can still see the growth in himself from this rookie season despite not playing.
“In the span of the time when I wasn’t out on the field, I was being really intentional about getting reps that didn’t require me running: catching the ball, hand placement, hand combat, stuff like that,” he said. “Staying in the playbook, mentally being ready. I think there was a lot of progress just in the time I wasn’t playing just to be able to set myself up for when I get back, to be able to get better.”
» READ MORE: ‘He’s doing everything he can’: Jordan Mailata defends Chris Kuper amid Eagles’ O-line struggles
Stowers has only been playing tight end since 2023. There’s some mental “carryover,” he said, from quarterback, but the physical nature of the position requires more “nuances and technique.” He’s still trying to master hand placement, blocking technique, and route running at the NFL level.
The Eagles may be wise to allow him to learn more on the job now that their season is in turmoil. They could trade Dallas Goedert before Tuesday’s deadline, though there are salary cap implications to doing so.
After the Eagles signed Zach Ertz to their practice squad, they put his locker next to Stowers’, a move Ertz felt was intentional. Both players are represented by the same agency, and Ertz made sure Stowers knew he could ask him questions whenever he needs to.
Sometimes, Stowers said, he’ll be sitting quietly in his locker stall and Ertz will nudge him and ask if he has anything on his mind Ertz can help with.
» READ MORE: The worst Eagles offense this century, and more numbers to know ahead of Eagles-Giants
Stowers said all the veterans in the tight end room have been helpful.
“I’ve really appreciated that they’ve kind of poured into me,” he said.
Now that his first NFL touches are out of the way, what’s next?
“My goal every single day is the same, put my best foot forward, work as hard as I can, and whatever my job is week to week, attack that job with the best of my ability,” Stowers said.
“It’s always good to get the first one out of the way. To feel that in a game, I think it was a good first step for me.”
The Eagles have problems. Eight games into the season, that much is sure. But which ones are symptomatic, versus the ones that are systemic? From the head coach to the personnel, from coordinators to the front office, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy scrutinize the micro issues that point to some of the larger dilemmas the Eagles now face: should they start to pack it in, and who will be held accountable for the team’s shortcomings? Listen here.
Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.
