Philadelphia Eagles fans are truly in unprecedented times, facing an unbelievable number of injuries after just four games.
By our accounts, 14 players on this roster have important roles and are either on IR, injured but still on the active roster, or out for personal reasons. The worst part is that the Eagles may not be able to improve the roster by adding talent because they travel to London on Friday to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5, so they have limited options.
For Philly, the latest news is that Cam Jurgens is in concussion protocol after self-reporting; Saquon Barkley is week-to-week with a hamstring injury; Mitchell is still waiting on his results for the knee injury; Jonathan Greenard is thankfully day-to-day with his ankle injury; and Tank Bigsby is going on IR with a knee injury. Those are the four injuries from the Eagles' 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4.
That is a lot for the Eagles to handle in such a short time, so how does the team navigate it all? Here's a strategy Howie Roseman can use for now, until they get back from London.
What Eagles need to do over the next few days to survive Week 5
First, they need to get Bigsby on IR right away, as that will give them an extra roster spot for now. He will be gone for a month, so they need to find his replacement right away.
Since Barkley is just week-to-week, the worst-case scenario is that he misses the Jaguars game. That opens the door for someone like Dameon Pierce to be promoted from the practice squad to the active roster. Pierce had a great final preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals and would be a good complementary piece for Will Shipley, who will most likely take over as the starter.
The good news is that the Eagles have three running backs on the practice squad: Pierce, Jaydon Blue, and Carson Steele. In terms of running back depth, Philly is pretty solid there.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman may not like this, but the team has to move on at quarterback. Since Andy Dalton got demoted, it might be time to cut him and maybe add him to the practice squad if the team desperately wants to keep a QB.
Another player will have to be cut to make room on the roster. Someone like Elijah Moore or Josiah Deguara would make sense, since they aren't doing much. Deguara would make more sense since they have four tight ends on the roster and don't need that many.
The offensive line desperately needs help, so John Ojukwu and Jake Majors will have to earn spots on the 53-man roster. Ojukwu and Majors had solid training camps and can step in immediately to add depth.
The Eagles also need to stop playing around with Zach Ertz on the practice squad and put him on the active roster permanently. Ertz has been elevated from the practice squad to the roster in each of the last two games. Just sign him and keep him on the 53-man roster moving forward.
Read more: Saquon Barkley is starting to become an unreliable narrator in Eagles' 2026 story
There is a way to survive this, but the Eagles need to act quickly and use next week to fix everything.
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