Eagles RB Will Shipley could miss weeks, per report: What's next with Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby also hurt

Eagles running back Will Shipley could miss multiple weeks with a partial tear of his plantar fascia, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports, the latest blow to a reeling team dealing with a long list of injuries at running back and across the roster.

Shipley started Sunday's eventual 19-16 loss to the Jaguars in London in place of both Saquon Barkley (hamstring) and Tank Bigsby (core muscle). Both Barkley and Bigsby suffered their injuries in Week 4 against the Rams; Barkley was considered "week-to-week" after the injury and has not been placed on IR; Bigsby underwent surgery for his injury and landed on IR, meaning he's out at least three more games.

Currently, the Eagles have two running backs — Dameon Pierce and Carson Steele — on their active roster, with former Cowboys fifth-round pick Jaydon Blue on the practice squad. Both Pierce and Steele were signed from the practice squad just last week; now, they could be in line for big roles.

It's looking like a dire situation regardless of who's running, though.

Shipley, in his second career start, had five carries for 6 yards and a touchdown before exiting. Pierce didn't fare much better, running 11 times for 14 yards. Jalen Hurts rushed twice for 2 yards.

Overall, the Eagles had 18 rushes for 22 yards, the 1.2 yards per carry was their second-worst of the 21st century.

All of this came during a tumultuous week in which Lane Johnson retired and the Eagles traded Cam Jurgens to the Ravens. On Sunday, the only Week 1 starter remaining along the offensive line was left tackle Jordan Mailata.

And that was before the Eagles blew a lead in the final eight seconds, with Nick Sirianni's poor decision to give the Jaguars a returnable kick looming large. After Jake Elliott gave Philadelphia the lead, Ameer Abdullah returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards. With one second remaining, Cam Little drilled a 57-yard field goal.

"I didn't make the right decision, and I lost us that game, and that's what I said to our guys, and what hurts there is that the guys fought so hard and then I don't make the decision that I should make at the end of the game and I cost us that game," Sirianni said. "I put that fully on me."

Philadelphia (2-3) currently ranks 30th in yards per play this year and has the highest three-and-out rate in the league. Injuries have played a huge role.

Eagles running back options

If Barkley continues to miss time — hamstrings can be notoriously fickle injuries — Pierce will be first in line. A fourth-round pick for the Texans in 2022, Pierce ran for 939 yards and finished with 1,104 yards from scrimmage as a rookie. But he struggled in his second year (2023) and basically disappeared from the Texans' offense by 2024. In 2025, he disappeared from the Texans completely: Houston waived him mid-season. He landed with the Chiefs near the end of what was by then a lost season in Kansas City. He did not make the Eagles' initial 53-man roster but stuck around on the practice squad until being brought up to the active roster last week.

Steele, undrafted in 2024, gained a bit of a cult following for his long hair and physical running style as a rookie with the Chiefs. He spent all of last season on Kansas City's practice squad before being cut. The Eagles signed him to a futures contract in January 2026. Like Pierce, he didn't make Philadelphia's initial roster but stuck around on the practice squad before being added to the active roster last week. He has only played special teams for the Eagles so far this year.

There was considerable hype around Blue, a talented back out of Texas, but he had only a small role in his rookie year in Dallas, and the team waived him as part of its roster cuts this year. Philadelphia signed him to its practice squad days later. He is yet to appear in a game this season.