Thursday’s Injury Report
The Eagles could get a boost for the offense on Monday night as running back Saquon Barkley practiced for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury in the Week 4 game against the Los Angeles Rams.
“It felt good to be back out there on the field with the guys practicing,” Barkley told reporters.
Part of Barkley’s frustration is that he’s never dealt with a hamstring injury before. He’s sought out plenty of advice on how to manage it.
“You want to be out there and try to help the team,” Barkley said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to go Monday.”
Monday night’s opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, rank last entering Week 7 in rushing yards allowed with just shy of 150 per game.
“Your play-action pass game gets better and better as you run the football better,” Head Coach Nick Sirianni said. “We know we have to play not only complementary football offensively, defensively, special teams, but also within the offense. For your play-action game to create the plays that you want it to create, your run game’s got to be going. You’ve got to be converting on third downs. You’ve got to be in manageable situations to continue to get reps and plays out there.
“Anytime you add a player like Saquon’s caliber to your team, that’s obviously a huge plus. I like the backs in the room that we have. Obviously, we’ve been beat up there as the season’s (gone on), and I’m glad we’ve had the guys that we’ve had to be able to step in and go. We’ll see where we are with Saquon, but anytime that’s a possibility, that’s huge.”
While Barkley is inching closer to a return, the Eagles were without their top pass catchers – tight end Dallas Goedert (knee), wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring), and wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) – at practice. Defensively, defensive back Michael Carter (abdomen) remains sidelined, while outside linebacker Nolan Smith is in the concussion protocol.