Tank

Bigsby

Bigsby was phased out of the usually pass-heavy Eagles offense on a pass-heavy day for Jalen Hurts. Bigsby, who’s been efficient with limited chances since joining the Eagles in October, is a good bench stash for now in case Saquon Barkley misses time down the stretch of the regular season.

Barkley’s pre-bye groin injury in Week 8 caused a scare, thrusting backup RB Tank Bigsby to the top of many waiver wire bids. It appears as though Bigsby has been reduced to a high-value bench stash, though, with Barkley practicing in full to begin the week. The Eagles’ No. 1 running back can be started as a borderline RB1/2 on Monday.

Bigsby ran tough after Barkley exited the ballgame with a groin injury. The Eagles appeared to play it safe with Barkley, allowing him to sit the entire fourth quarter of a lopsided affair against an overmatched Giants team. Bigsby appeared to be the clear lead back with Barkley sidelined though, blowing through holes and shedding tacklers regularly. It’s something to file away for later this season if Barkley gets dinged up again. The Eagles are headed into their bye and should have Barkley back to full strength — or something close to it — when they return to action in Week 10 against the Packers.

Barkley came up with a limp after a long run in the fourth quarter. He spent a couple minutes in the medical tent before emerging without his helmet. It would be surprising if Barkley re-entered the ballgame after totaling 174 yards and two touchdowns — one rushing, one receiving — in his biggest game of the season. Tank Bigsby appears to be the lead back with Barkley on the sideline. Bigsby has 58 yards on five rushes through three and a half quarters.

He didn’t manage a single rush attempt, but outsnapped Tank Bigsby 8-4 behind Saquon Barkley with A.J. Dillon a healthy scratch. There’s no stand-alone value here, but Shipley is a fine hold in deeper leagues.

Shipley didn’t practice all week with his “oblique” injury (reports are that he is dealing with fractured ribs) and is a candidate to be placed on injured reserve on Saturday. Tank Bigsby will take Shipley’s role in the offense, although it is possible that AJ Dillon gets more snaps as the Eagles figure out how they want to implement the newly-acquired Bigsby.

It helps explain the Tank Bigsby trade a little more. Eagles beat reporters denied that Shipley’s health was related to the trade yesterday, but now Bigsby can help step into fill the void Shipley may be leaving. If it’s serious, Shipley could be an injured reserve candidate.

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen was quoted saying that it would be “difficult” to carry four running backs on the active game day roster on 21 August, prompting rumors of a trade at the position at some point in 2025. The team made good on those rumors by moving Bigsby to the Eagles, where he is likely to battle Will Shipley for the change of pace role behind Saquon Barkley. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman continues to leverage late picks to bolster his team as they look to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The move paves the way for Bhayshul Tuten to step into the primary change of pace role in Jacksonville, while Etienne has a clear runway for primary duties the remainder of the season.

As usual, Bigsby was not targeted in the passing game. Although ahead of Bhayshul Tuten on the depth chart, Bigsby was well, well behind Travis Etienne. One game is one game, but it is certainly looking like new coach Liam Coen has settled on Etienne as his starter after much sound and fury. Give Bigsby one more week on your bench, but if he’s similarly uninvolved in Week 2 against the Bengals, it might already be time to cut bait.

A confusing situation remains confusing. Worst of all, correctly figuring out which Jaguars running back will get the majority of the run against a Panthers defense coming off one of the worst seasons defending the run in NFL history could mean a lot for fantasy football in Week 1. We’re going to have to hit the press conference tape hard to figure this one out. Either player is startable in Week 1 as a FLEX play until we hear something stronger from the coaching staff.