Eagles Sign RB Dameon Pierce From Practice Squad

The Eagles went into Week 4 with Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby as the top options in their backfield, but neither player got through a 24-20 loss to the Rams unscathed. Barkley, who suffered a hamstring injury, is likely to miss this Sunday’s game against the Jaguars in London. Bigsby will sit out at least four games and could miss up to six weeks after undergoing core-muscle surgery.

The losses of Barkley and Bigsby briefly left the Eagles with Will Shipley as the lone healthy RB on their 53-man roster. Shipley, a 2024 fourth-round pick, has mostly worked as a special-teamer during his three-year career. As a ball carrier, he has totaled 59 attempts and averaged just 3.1 yards per try.

Pierce offers a more experienced alternative to Shipley, having combined for 419 carries and averaged 4.0 yards per attempt with the Texans and Chiefs. But most of the 5-foot-10, 218-pounder’s success came as a rookie with the Texans in 2022, when he set career highs in carries (220), yards (939) and touchdowns (four). His workload markedly declined in each of the next three seasons, bottoming out at 14 carries in five games between Houston and Kansas City last year. Pierce signed with the Eagles in March, but he began the season on their practice squad after he was unable to earn a roster spot over the summer.

Even if the Eagles had Barkley and/or Bigsby this week, they would have been in for a major test against the 3-1 Jaguars and coordinator Anthony Campanile’s elite run defense. The Jaguars allowed the fewest rushing yards in the NFL last season and rank second in the league in that category this year.

Adding to the Eagles’ offensive issues, future Hall of Fame right tackle Lane Johnson abruptly retired Wednesday; left guard Landon Dickerson is on IR; center/guard Cam Jurgens is in concussion protocol; and No. 1 receiver DeVonta Smith and starting tight end Dallas Goedert could miss Week 5 with injuries. None of that bodes well for a 2-2 Philadelphia team aiming to snap a two-game losing skid.