6 Eagles Unlikely to Return in 2025 After Poor Start to Season

4. Kenneth Gainwell, running back

There's a chance that Kenneth Gainwell is going to have to take his gadget-back skills to another NFL team in 2025. The Eagles have gotten a lot out of Gainwell over the last handful of years, seeing him rack up over 400 yards from scrimmage in each of his first three NFL seasons.

Not only has Gainwell been an effective all-around back from a yardage perspective, but he's also got 12 career touchdowns. He's proven his worth as a secondary back in that Eagles offense, but that seems to have taken a turn for the worst in 2024.

Since the Eagles have signed Saquon Barkley, they are maximizing that investment. Barkley has 85 touches so far this season for the Eagles, which is nearly four times as many as the next most touches on the team. Gainwell has just eight touches through the first four games and is obviously on the outside looking in when it comes to overall touches and involvement in the offense.

Since he's slated to hit free agency in 2025, it looks like there's almost no chance the Eagles are going to be bringing him back next offseason. They can get the kind of production they are seeing from him right now out of another player on a rookie contract, and there's probably no way that Gainwell is going to want to come back if his involvement is limited to just two total touches per game.

It's possible that Gainwell will see an uptick in usage as the year goes along, especially if anything happens to Saquon Barkley, but it's not substantial enough right now to project any realistic role for him on this team in 2025.