With Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni deciding to rest his starters in Week 18 against the Washington Commanders, it allowed backups and young players who haven’t received much playing time during the regular season to showcase their skills.
It was a bold decision by Sirianni, given that the Eagles still had a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC, but they needed some help, namely the Bears' loss, which occurred. But the Eagles couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain, losing 24-17.
While the loss was disappointing for a variety of reasons, Eagles fans were treated to another eye-opening performance from Tank Bigsby. The 23-year-old running back led the way with a game-high 75 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. He also added a 31-yard reception.
Many Eagles fans were not surprised by Bigsby’s performance, as they’ve been clamoring for him to get the ball more down the stretch. In fact, some fans wanted to see Bigsby get the ball more than he did in Sunday’s loss to take some of the weight off quarterback Tanner McKee’s shoulders, who had 40 passing attempts.
Eagles' Failure to Properly Utilize Tank Bigsby Could Backfire in Long Run
However, for one reason or another, Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo thought otherwise, despite Bigsby averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The conundrum around Bigsby has been fascinating to watch ever since his Week 8 performance against the New York Giants, where he had 104 yards on nine carries.
For many Eagles fans, that was an eye-opener, as they believed the team had finally found their RB2, who could be a nice change of pace option to Saquon Barkley. But his workload has been inconsistent, which is puzzling, given that every time he touches the ball, he picks up yards and makes positive plays.
That said, if the Eagles cannot figure out what to do with Bigsby or, better yet, don't find a way to get him on the field in the playoffs, it wouldn’t be surprising if a RB-needy team comes around to inquire about his availability this offseason.
Now, if you’re Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, you likely don’t want to give Bigsby up, as he’s still under contract for 2026 with a reasonable cap hit of $1.48 million, per Spotrac. Seeing what you’ve gotten from Will Shipley and AJ Dillon (impending free agent) this season, it's clear Bigsby is the better option to put behind Barkley.
But at the same time, Bigsby has proven that he warrants more touches, which likely won’t come in Philadelphia with Barkley running the show. Therefore, would the Eagles consider re-signing Bigsby after next season? Even though they’ll have other commitments to figure out down the road.
It’s a tough question to answer at this point. However, it’s something that fans should keep in the back of their mind, as if Bigsby continues to play well and the Eagles fail to get him on the field, the talk of him playing elsewhere will continue growing.