It might be as a practice-squad elevation or as a member of the 53-man roster but veteran running back Jordan Howard is set to make his 2021 debut for the Eagles on Sunday in Detroit.
Howard is needed because RB1 Miles Sanders is going to be placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. That didn't happen Friday, however, as the Eagles mull over a number of different paths that could go in order to fill Sanders' roster spot.
The most linear path would be to simply elevate Howard and place him into the RB rotation with rookie Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott.
Complicating matters is that two players - safety K'Von Wallace and tight end Tyree Jackson - are in Week 2 of their 21-day practice windows as designated to return from IR.
At the end of that period, Wallace and Jackson either need to be back on the 53-man roster or shut down for the remainder of the season.
Howard, meanwhile, still has two practice squad elevations that the Eagles could use in what is expected to be either a three-game absence for Sanders or slightly more than that in the worst-case scenario.
"[Miles is] just going to be out for right now," coach Nick Sirianni said when asked about Sanders moving to IR. "We still have some decisions to make there. With him being out, it just means that the other guys that we have coming up and stepping up and making plays, with Kenny and Boston and with Jordan."
The Eagles have until Saturday before making their decision with Sanders' roster spot for this week's game.
"K'Von, and Tyree, so we still have 24 hours to see how this next 24 hours go, so still sorting through that," Sirianni said.
Whatever the decision, Howard will be a part of things at Ford Field against the 0-7 Lions.
"He's practiced with the starters this week and we have a lot of confidence in him," Sirianni said.
Howard re-signed with the Eagles this offseason when he admitted there weren't a lot of other offers on the table for him.
The veteran had a really productive summer but with the COVID-19 roster rules kept in place for 2021 enabling veteran players to be placed on the expanded 16-man practice squads, the Eagles went that route with Howard.
The assumption was that he would always be needed at some point and some point has arrived.
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“One of the things that just stands out to me about Jordan is his work ethic,” right guard Jack Driscoll said. “Whether he was on the scout team and not active, he worked just a hard as he is now. You look back on some of the tape from 2018, 2019 and he runs hard. We’re excited to have him back there. He’s capable of making plays.”
Howard ran for 525 yards and 6 touchdowns in 10 games for the Eagles in 2019 after being acquired from Chicago for a 2020 sixth-round pick, wresting the RB1 job away from a then-rookie Sanders until a shoulder injury cut short Howard's campaign.
He signed with Miami in free agency but was ineffective with the Dolphins and returned to the Eagles' PS on Nov. 23 of last season before being elevated to the active roster for two games in December.
"I just see a guy that comes to work every day and does his job every day and prepares our defense," Sirianni said of Howard. "The last month or so he's been preparing our defense to get ready to play and working on his craft as a running back. And that's what pros do. They come to work every day and they do what's required of them and even more, because he's continuing to work even more out there.
"They're ready when their number is called."
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