Eagles Sign Veteran Running Back for Depth Behind Saquon Barkley

The defending Super Bowl champs are bolstering their backfield depth.
AJ Dillon missed the 2024 season due to a neck injury.
AJ Dillon missed the 2024 season due to a neck injury. / Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
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A talented Philadelphia Eagles backfield just got stronger.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported Wednesday, citing sources, that the Eagles are signing veteran running back AJ Dillon.

Dillon missed the entire 2024 campaign due to a neck injury. In 60 career games, Dillon has logged 2,438 rushing yards on 597 carries—an average of 4.1 yards per attempt. He rushed for 613 yards on 178 attempts (3.4 average) for the Green Bay Packers in 2023.

Dillon takes over Kenneth Gainwell's role of backing up Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 2,005 yards and was crowned the AP Offensive Player of the Year.

Barkley signed a two-year contract extension worth $41.2 million with the Eagles earlier this month.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.