Saquon Barkley is out with a hamstring injury. Tank Bigsby is on IR for core muscle surgery.
So here comes the Will Shipley game.
The Eagles’ third-year player is the final man on the initial 53-man roster and will likely start and carry the bulk of the workload when the Eagles play the Jaguars in London on Sunday.
“Yeah, I’m ready to go,” Shipley said. “There’s no doubt about it. I believe God put me here for a reason. And the opportunity that comes, I’ll be ready for it, no matter what. Just go out there and focus on executing one play at a time.”
Shipley, 24, was a fourth-round pick back in 2024, but has been behind Barkley, Kenny Gainwell and Bigsby on the Eagles’ depth chart since entering the NFL. In his NFL career, he has never played more than 52.9% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps in a game, never had more than 10 rushing attempts and never had more than 14 touches in a game in his career.
He is likely to surpass all of these statistics on Sunday against the Jaguars.
While Shipley has technically begun his NFL career, it was against the Buccaneers in 2024 when he was on the field with Barkley for the first snap. This game is his first real NFL start.
“I feel like I’ve been preparing to be a starter since the first game of my rookie year against Green Bay in Brazil,” Shipley said. “Each week it doesn’t really change for me. I prepare like a starter and the word opportunity is just a word. We’ll see what opportunities come. At the end of the day, it just comes down to one thing for me and that’s just executing one play at a time, no matter what the role looks like.”
In addition to Shipley, the Eagles will also have veteran Damon Pierce in the rotation. The Eagles promoted Pierce to the 53-man roster this week after placing him on the practice squad to start the season.
Pierce was a feature player with the Texans a few years ago.
“DP is unbelievable, man,” Shipley said. “He’s done it in this league. He’s shown what he can do, he’s got the experience. I’ve learned a lot from him and he’s a baller. He’s shown it through camp and he’s got the confidence of everybody in the locker room.
Through the first four weeks of this season, Shipley has been the offensive lineman and main special teamer. As his role on offense increases this week, he’ll likely play fewer snaps on special teams. On offense this year, Shipley has 15 catches for 51 yards and 4 catches for 24. He has already surpassed his rushing total since 2025 and has a chance to add to it on Sunday.
When asked how he avoids stress in such a big moment, Shipley explained his process. On Wednesday, the Eagles were working on early downs, so their focus was on early downs. On Thursday, they work on third downs, so their focus was on third downs. He’s trying to take each day as it comes and that’s a wise approach.
While Barkley will not suit up on Sunday, he will back up Shipley. And that support means a lot to the young back.
“He’s done it since my rookie year as we all saw in the NFC Championship Game when I scored a touchdown,” Shipley said. “He’s such a role model for me that I look up to. Day in and day out, he tries to help me, help me learn, help me get better. Having someone like that, having him in my corner, always encouraging me, is definitely a blessing.”