The Carolina Panthers won’t have to deal with Saquon Barkley on Sunday when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6.
They won’t even have to play against backup Eagles RB Will Shipley, either. Injuries have ravaged the running back depth chart for the Eagles.
Given that the Eagles are also without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, it will certainly be a different type of offense for Philadelphia against Carolina on Sunday.
It puts the pressure on the 2-2 Panthers, coming off a bye week, to not miss taking advantage of such an opportunity. The fact that the Eagles are without so much firepower could have a huge impact on Sunday’s game.
Who’s Playing RB for Eagles Today?
The Eagles have three running backs active on Sunday.
Dameon Pierce is the most likely to be the lead back after getting the heavy workload after Shipley left Week 5 with an injury (a game Barkley was inactive from to begin with).
Pierce is a talented player with a strong past, having run for 1,000 yards as a rookie with the Houston Texans. But his recent seasons have seen a downturn in production, and until this point in time, he had mostly become a special teams player.
The other RB who was active last week and will be active again this week is Carson Steele. He’s a bruising running back who previously played with the Kansas City Chiefs, but he hasn’t run efficiently in his NFL career. If anything, Steele might be a short-yardage option for the Eagles, particularly with Hurts not available for the tush push.
And the Eagles have elevated one player from the practice squad for Sunday, Jaydon Blue. Blue was a 2025 draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys who has breakaway speed out of the University of Texas. He played for the Cowboys some as a rookie but didn’t prove he should stick around, and so he has spent this season on the Eagles’ practice squad so far.
Blue is a wild card, because there’s a chance the Eagles decide his explosive potential actually warrants a longer look than his practice squad status would indicate.
Why Isn’t Saquon Barkley Playing vs. Panthers?
The big headline here, of course, is that Saquon Barkley remains out.
He missed Week 5 with a hamstring injury and misses Week 6, as well.
The Eagles haven’t placed him on IR, which means they think he won’t miss the minimum four games required by that move, but he didn’t seem particularly close to returning this week.
The Panthers’ run defense conceptually should have a lot less to worry about with neither Barkley nor Hurts on the field.
Who’s Playing RB for Eagles Today vs. Panthers? Depth Chart Crushed by Injuries