Eagles news roundup: Saquon Barkley to play, DeVonta Smith out for Week 8

It's an interesting week in the Philadelphia Eagles' season as they prepare for their Week 8 showdown against the Washington Commanders.

Sitting at 2-5, this feels like a game that if the Eagles are not able to win, their season could truly be over barring some insane comeback. This is truly desperation mode for Phily, which could lead to the Eagles needing some help to get there.

During the week, there have been moves made to add to the urgency of this game, and it has been getting a lot of attention in the news. Here are the biggest stories regarding the Eagles in the days that followed their 38-21 Week 7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

1. Final Eagles injury report: Saquon Barkley good to play, DeVonta Smith out
2. Saquon Barkley talks about playing through the pain
3. Sean Mannion on how the Eagles' offense did in Week 7
4. Jordan Mailata on Eagles not using injuries as an excuse for team's struggles
5. Riq Woolen on trade rumors
6. Eagles work out punter for one reason

Final Eagles injury report: Saquon Barkley good to play, DeVonta Smith out

It's another week of the Philadelphia Eagles dealing with all kinds of injuries entering a game. The final Eagles injury report shows there are five players out for the game, including starting wide receiver DeVonta Smith.

• DeVonta Smith, WR
• Dontayvion Wicks, WR
• Jihaad Campbell, LB
• Britain Covey, WR
• Jonathan Jones, CB

The wide receiver position is depleted with three guys out. On defense, not having Jones means the cornerback depth will not be there if Quinyon Mitchell, Riq Woolen, or Cooper DeJean get hurt. Campbell missing a game means that Jeremiah Trotter Jr. will get all the snaps at linebacker alongside Zack Baun.

Running back Saquon Barkley, though, was limited in practice on Friday and is good to play in the game. This is massive news for the Eagles, as their top offensive player is back for them.

Saquon Barkley talks about playing through the pain

Barkley is back for the Eagles after playing only 10 snaps in the Cowboys game. He reaggravated his hamstring injury, while also adding a back injury to him. Even with all of that, he got 71 yards on nine touches in the game.

This week, Barkley spoke with reporters about the injuries he has been dealing with and playing through it. He knows that his team needs him, but more importantly, he loves to play with his teammates.

"One day I'm not gonna be playing football. Whenever that is, I don't want to look back and be like, 'I could have gave it a chance and I didn't.' That's kind of what I live by. So try my best to just keep recovering, being smart. But I like playing football. So if I have the opportunity to play, I'll try my best to play."

Sean Mannion on how the Eagles' offense did in Week 7

The Eagles' offense actually looked the best they have all season against the Cowboys. They were able to gain over 320 yards and were able to run the ball more efficiently. If it wasn't for some bad missed throws from Tanner McKee and his early fourth quarter interception, Philly's offense might have put up better numbers.

Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion spoke with the media this week to talk about his thoughts on the offense. Mannion was pleased with how the unit played and looking to build off of that performance.

"'I thought the execution was much cleaner. I know that sounds maybe like a bland answer, but I really think when you look at these first few weeks where we haven't gotten out of the gate the way we wanted to or we haven't executed, it's just been the little things, the simple stuff, communication, fundamentals, the things that are really within our control. That was the message to the group going into last week is, 'Hey, if we just own our end of things, we've got the talent, we've got the ability. I know our group's going to play extremely hard, that we're going to be able to move the football if we just handle our own stuff and we're sharp on our end.'"

Jordan Mailata on Eagles not using injuries as an excuse for team's struggles

Mailata has really stepped up as the leader of the Eagles since Lane Johnson's retirement and Cam Jurgens being traded. But everyone has seen the overwhelming number of injuries the Eagles have gone through over the last month, as five players have been ruled out against Washington.

While speaking to the media, Mailata was asked about dealing with all these injuries on the team. He refused to use that as an excuse for the team struggling of late.

"We're not the only team going through injuries. We can't feel sorry for ourselves because we are. That's how I feel. If you ask me how I feel, there's no time to feel sorry, 'Oh, this guy got hurt, this guy's hurt, this guy's hurt, so that's why we're losing.' That's bullcrap! That's bullcrap! Everyone here on this team, in this locker room, is here for a reason."

Riq Woolen on trade rumors

Woolen has been taken a lot of criticism over the last few days for how he played in that Cowboys game. He surrendered 117 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Still, there is a lot of interesting in potentially acquiring him in a trade and since he is only on a one-year deal, the Eagles might be open to moving on from him if they can get a good draft pick. While speaking to the media this week, Woolen talked about how he has been dealing with the trade rumors.

"You hear it, but nobody knows the truth. You guys on social media and whatever news outlet, you can say a million things but will never really know until you get a talk with your GM, or a talk with your coach. So other than that, you can see me going to any team or hear me going to any team, but to me, that doesn't really matter to me because I'm here every day working with these guys. Even when I was in Seattle last year and my name came up in trade reports, I still had to come to work every day because my brothers need me. They don't need my mind being anywhere else. That's my job here."

Eagles work out punter for one reason

An interesting move was made by the Eagles this week before they play the Commanders. They decided to work out punter Colton Spangler when they already have a very good one in Braden Mann.

Read more: Recent Eagles' Jalen Carter trade chatter among fans and media needs to stop

This is actually a very typical move by the Eagles, as they have done this time and time again each year. With Commanders punter Tress Way being a left-football punter, they always bring in a left-footed punter to practice for a workout so the returners can work on getting used to it. Don't worry, Mann has his job secure.

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