Eagles Trade For A Running Back, Igniting Concern Over Will Shipley's Rib Injury

PHILADELPHIA – Nick Sirianni doesn’t give much information on injured players, so nobody asked about Will Shipley or even Landon Dickerson, for that matter, during the Eagles videoconference call on Monday.

There has to be concern with both, though. Left guard Dickerson left late in the season-opening 24-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night with a back issue. Shipley injured a rib in the second half of Thursday night’s season-opening win over the Dallas Cowboys and did not return.

The Eagles bulked up their running back depth by trading a fifth- and sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Tank Bigsby on Monday night, a league source confirmed to Eagles on SI.

The Eagles also made a practice move involving a running back, bringing back Montrell Johnson on Monday. Two running backs in one day makes one wonder about Shipley’s availability for the Eagles’ Week 2 game in Kansas City and perhaps beyond.

Aug 7, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee (16) hands off to running back Will Shipley (28) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Bigsby is also a kickoff return option for Philadelphia. He had 11 in his two-plus seasons in the league, including one in the Jags’ season opener against the Carolina Panthers, for 314 yards, a 28.5 yards per kickoff average. He also carried five times for 12 yards in the opener.

There’s no chance Bigsby, who was a third-round pick of Jacksonville out of Auburn in 2023, supplants Saquon Barkley or Shipley, when Shipley is healthy, but A.J. Dillon could eventually feel some heat. Dillon played his first game in more than a year on Thursday night, collecting 10 yards on three carries.

The Eagles will have to make a corresponding move to make room for Bigsby on the 53-man roster. That move could potentially be putting Shipley on injured reserve.

Adding Bigsby on special teams will help offset the loss of Ben VanSumeren, who suffered a knee injury serious to land him on IR on the opening kickoff of Thursday night’s game.

Earlier in the day, the Eagles promoted Patrick Johnson from the practice squad to the roster, mostly for his special teams ability.

Sirianni brought up Johnson when answering a question about why the team opted to make pass rusher Azeez Ojulari inactive against the Cowboys.

“Patrick Johnson has done a really nice job in special teams his entire time here as an Eagle, and it was going to be important that he had that same game against a really good returner (in KaVontae Turpin), which I believe he did.”

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