The Philadelphia Eagles have a good problem on their hands after they close out Week 10. The Eagles have a healthy roster and were able to add three players at last week’s trade deadline, and could have another player on the way in cornerback Jakorian Bennett.
Bennett is eligible to return to the team as his 21-day practice window to be activated from injured reserve ends this week. While it will be nice to get Bennett back, the Eagles need to find a roster spot for him, as Anthony DiBona of The Philly Special guessed that his delayed return from a pectoral issue “is more of a roster issue than a health issue.”
The problem could sort itself out if a player needed to go on injured reserve after Monday’s game. But a more likely outcome could be the release of AJ Dillon after he was made inactive for the battle against his former team on Monday night.
Eagles Could Move on From AJ Dillon After Monday Night’s Game
The Eagles’ roster situation will be extremely fluid after Monday night’s game. DiBona noted that the Eagles had 52 players on the 53-man roster, including returning pass rusher Brandon Graham, before activating Nolan Smith Jr. on Monday night. Now that the Eagles are back at 53 players with Smith back in the fold, someone needs to go if they want to activate Bennett.
This makes Dillon the most obvious choice. The Eagles signed Dillon last spring with the hope that he could be the team’s backup to Saquon Barkley, but he hasn’t been able to find the field often, with 12 carries for 60 yards in six games. Even worse? Dillon can’t even dress on gamedays as he’s been a healthy scratch since an Oct. 9 loss to the New York Giants.
The biggest reason for Dillon’s absence has been the emergence of Tank Bigsby, who had his first 100-yard rushing game with Philadelphia in the Eagles’ 38-20 win over the Giants on Oct. 26. With Will Shipley also on the roster, there isn’t a spot for Dillon to contribute, making him expendable.
If this does end with Dillon’s release, it would be a disappointing end to his time with the Eagles. Attempting to make a return after missing all of last season with a neck injury, Dillon simply didn’t have the juice to bring to the Eagles' backfield. It makes for a move that won’t be a surprise if the Eagles pull the trigger after Monday’s game.