Philadelphia Eagles News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Nov 3, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars helmets on the sidelines against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Eagles-Jaguars Surprise $5 Million Trade Explained

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 8:40 AM ET

The Philadelphia Eagles made a somewhat surprising move on Monday.

Philadelphia is always looking to add. The Eagles did so after Week 1 by signing Za'Darius Smith to help bolster the pass rush. But, the Eagles didn't stop there, by any means.

Rumors have been flying about who could be next. The Eagles hosted seven players for a workout on Monday. The Eagles signed outside linebacker Patrick Johnson to the 53-man roster on Monday while also adding running back Montrell Johnson and offensive lineman Hollin Pierce to the practice squad and releasing wide receiver Elijah Cooks from it.

The front office continued to work afterward. Philadelphia reportedly acquired another running back behind Saquon Barkley by going out and acquiring Tank Bigsby from the Jacksonville Jaguars, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

"Sources: The Eagles are at it again, trading for Jaguars RB Tank Bigsby. The champs continue to build," Rapoport reported.

Philadelphia Eagles on SI's Ed Kracz confirmed the report.

"The Eagles bulked up their running back depth by trading a fifth- and sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Tank Bigsby on Monday night, a league source confirmed to Eagles on SI," Kracz said.

This move still is somewhat surprising even with the dust settling. A lot of the speculation out there right now has been about the cornerback room. One the players the Eagles brought in for the workout on Monday, one was vereran cornerback Mike Hilton. If you scroll through social media in regards to the Eagles, you are going to see a lot of noise about the cornerback spot and pretty much nothing about the running back spot.

So, why now? Bigsby isn't a small move. There were rumors last season and into the offseason that Bigsby could overtake Travis Etienne as the team's starting running back. Last year, Etienne had 558 rushing yards in 15 games. Bigsby had 766 rushing yards in 16 games.

Why did the Philadelphia Eagles make the move now?

The Eagles' running back room is led by Barkley with Will Shipley and AJ Dillon behind him. Shipley is dealing with a rib injury, but The Athletic's Brooks Kubena noted that the move was more in reference to Bigsby as a returner.

"The Tank Bigsby trade is not related to Will Shipley’s rib injury against the Cowboys last week, to my understanding," Kubena said. "The Eagles like their RB room. They like Bigsby’s effectiveness as a kickoff returner — a role they’ve been exploring."

It's a steep price to pay for just a returner, so it still will be worth watching the team's running back usage over the next few weeks to see if either Shipley or Dillon could be on the hot seat.

We'll see how his role shakes out this season, but what's also nice about Bigsby is the fact that he's under team control next year as well. He signed a four-year, $5.3 million rookie contract that will have a cap hit of just over $1.4 million next year. That's very affordable for someone who could play a sneaky large role.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: