Eagles RB Coach Explains Why Carson Steele Was Always A Roster Long Shot

The deck was stacked against Carson Steele and others because the Eagles weren't keeping four, and their top 3 weren't going anywhere.

Carson Steele did all he could to make the Eagles' 53-man roster, but with three locks already in place, the deck was stacked against him. | Dan Shrensky/Eagles on SI freelance

PHILADELPHIA – It may have been the hardest position to crack the 53-man roster going into training camp. The running back room already had three locks, and nobody was going to change the Eagles’ minds.

Saquon Barkley. Duh.

Tank Bigsby. Obviously.

Will Shipley. Maybe not so duh or obvious, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

The deck was stacked against all who tried to crack the Big 3, and the Eagles weren't going to keep four.

There was nothing Carson Steele could do, though he tried his darndest, with two eye-popping hurdles, two touchdowns receiving with 22 receptions and 160 yards in three games. Nobody was more productive than him this summer. Still, no shot. Somehow, nobody claimed him, and the Eagles were only too happy to add him to their practice squad.

“I think we all had a lot of fun watching him play football for two weeks in the preseason, and he does some really good things and brings some utility to us,” said running back Jemal Singleton during a gathering of beat writers and a handful of assistant coaches on Tuesday. “So, the fact that he's still in our building, the fact that we get a chance to continue to work with him and see what he, uh, what else he can do, I think is an awesome thing.”

Deck Was Stacked Against All Who Tried To Make Roster At RB

Eagles running back Dameon Pierce looks for yardage in the Eagles' preseason finale against the Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 28, 2026. | Dan Shrensky/Eagles On SI freelance

If Steele wasn’t making it, neither was Dameon Pierce. It didn’t help that the running back, who had 939 rushing yards as a rookie in Houston and has 1,684 rushing yards since entering the league in 2022, was hurt through much of camp, but he showed how good he was and can still be with 44 yards on four bowling-ball-style runs in the preseason finale. Still, no shot. He went unclaimed, and he’s on the practice squad.

“You've seen Dameon in his past do some really, really good things,” said Singleton. “I know when he came out of college, I was high on him; strong, physical runner, does some great things. He showed a little bit in the last preseason game the type of athlete and type of player he is, so there's some excitement there. And just having a guy that has been through the war a few times and can step in if we need him. I'm glad that he's part of this team right now.”

The Eagles added a third running back to the practice squad on Monday when they claimed Jaydon Blue after he was released by the Cowboys, who had spent a fifth-round pick on him just last year.

Like Steele and Pearce, Blue won't be added to the 53-man roster anytime soon. Barring injury, of course.

Eagles on SI asked Singleton how challenging or frustrating it can be for guys like Steele and Pierce and now Blue knowing that they had to be nothing short of Supermen to make the roster, and even that may not have been good enough.

“Well, to me, iron sharpens iron,” he said. “We know that we have a really good backfield, and guys that wanna come in and be involved in it have to work. And there's a certain standard that they've set inside the room of how they work. Not just my standard. I mean, they've got a standard for themselves as well.

“And everybody has to rise for that. So, we've got some really good players that may be on the active roster, but who knows down the road? We know how this business goes, you can get an opportunity."

Make sure you bookmark Philadelphia Eagles on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more!