After seeing running back Tank Bigsby notably struggle on special teams for the last few weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles finally made a change at kick return ahead of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Eagles decided to make wide receiver Xavier Gipson active for the first time since he joined the club in late September. Some within the fanbase were wondering when Gipson was going to get his chance since he’s been holding a spot on the 53-man roster for several weeks. With the Eagles activating Gipson for Sunday’s game, the team surprisingly made veteran RB A.J. Dillion inactive, not Bigsby.
The 24-year-old Gipson did not waste any time making an impact on the Eagles’ kick return unit as he averaged 25.6 yards per kick returns on five attempts, per Brooks Kubena of The Athletic.
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The young wide receiver’s best return in Sunday afternoon’s win over the Vikings happened late in the fourth quarter after Minnesota kicker Will Reichard knocked through a 29-yard field goal.
On what would be the final kickoff of the game, Gipson returned the ball for 37 yards, bringing the ball back to the Eagles’ 43-yard line, giving them great field position to bleed out the clock and capture the win.
Meanwhile, Bigsby's longest return this season was only 31 yards, which was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4. If you’re an Eagles fan, you’re excited to see the kick return unit look improved after seeing Bigsby, John Metchie III, and even Jahan Dotson on returns.
Now you hope that Gipson can build off this performance and look like the guy we saw in 2024 with the New York Jets, where he averaged a career-best 28.8 yards per kick return. During that season, the former Stephen F. Austin standout finished eighth in the league in kick return yards (489) after finishing second in 2023 (511) despite averaging 23.2 yards per return.
Along those same lines, for Gipson, this performance on Sunday against Minnesota could go a long way toward solidifying himself as one of the Eagles’ starting returners. He had a rough end to his Jets tenure last month, who cast him aside after Week 1 following a crucial fumble on a kick return.
The New York Giants took a flier on him immediately after getting cut, but they got rid of him in 10 days, which led to a newfound chance to prove himself with the Eagles. The NFL has been encouraging more kick returns this season, and the Eagles can hopefully continue taking advantage of that with Gipson, who's quickly become a key player in Philly.