The Philadelphia Eagles' trade for running back Tank Bigsby has not gone to plan, as the young running back has been a net-negative on special teams in his five games with the club.
Bigsby is averaging 20.8 yards per kick return (nine attempts), lower than the league average (25.4). The young running back also struggled with handling kickoffs, which was highlighted in the Eagles’ Week 6 loss. Bigsby muffed a kick return in the first half, placing the Eagles’ offense on the seven-yard line.
The ex-Jaguars running back was ultimately benched for his poor performance. On Tuesday, Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay was asked about Bigsby. Clay didn’t close the door on the young running back, but made it clear that they have other options available.
“It’s not like you’re going to get benched for the year after one mistake, but we have a lot of options,” Clay said via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Eagles STC Michael Clay Puts Tank Bigsby on Notice Heading into Week 7
The Eagles’ special teams coordinator is not bluffing when he says that the team has a lot of options at kick returner. Philly has veteran wide receiver Britain Covey, currently on the practice squad, who was re-signed at the end of the preseason.
Covey was predominantly the Eagles’ punt returner for three seasons (averaging 11.3 yards per punt return), but he does have some experience handling kickoffs as well (21.5 yards per kickoff return).
In addition to Covey, the Eagles also have wide receiver Xavier Gipson, who has been a healthy scratch since joining the team in late September. The 24-year-old Gipson is averaging 26 yards per kickoff return over his three-year NFL career.
Gipson also possesses punt return skills, as he’s averaged 8.9 yards per return. The 5-foot-9 wide receiver was most recently with the New York Jets, where he had a costly fumble in Week 1 that led to his release.
Since then, Gipson has not seen the field. However, if you’re the Eagles, it might be time to activate the young wideout and see what he can do. Right now, you aren’t getting much return on investment with Bigsby, and veteran running back AJ Dillon should be nowhere near kick returns.
It’s bad enough that Jahan Dotson is handling punt returns, and John Metchie III is clearly not an option on returns. Therefore, the Eagles' next best option is either Covey or Gipson because they cannot afford for Bigsby to make another costly mistake.