Philadelphia Eagles Get Major Saquon Barkley Injury Update Before Dallas Cowboys Showdown
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is expected to return to practice Thursday and is in line to play Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys, sources told NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field is set for 7:15 p.m. CT on ESPN and ABC.
Barkley has not practiced since he injured his hamstring on a 6-yard run in the first quarter of Philadelphia’s 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 4. He played 4 snaps that day before going to the medical tent and then inside with trainers.
On Oct. 11, the Eagles lost 19-17 to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London when Jacksonville made a 57-yard field goal as time expired. A week later, Philadelphia fell 25-14 to the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field. Barkley missed both games. The Eagles have lost four straight and are 2-4.
Philadelphia Eagles Have Rushed For 57 Yards In Two Games Without Saquon Barkley
In London, Philadelphia ran for 22 yards as a team. Will Shipley started and scored on a 2-yard run that tied the game 7-7 in the second quarter. He left with a foot injury in the first half, and the Eagles placed him on injured reserve Oct. 16. Dameon Pierce took over and carried 11 times for 14 yards.
Against Carolina, Pierce accounted for all 35 of the Eagles’ rushing yards on 12 carries. He scored on a run up the middle at the goal line in the first half, cutting the Panthers’ lead to 10-7.
After Barkley left the Rams game, Tank Bigsby carried 13 times for 54 yards before suffering a core muscle injury late in the game. That injury required surgery and a stay on injured reserve. Philadelphia finished that day with 104 rushing yards on 27 attempts.
Barkley and Pierce are the only running backs on the Eagles’ active roster. Philadelphia signed Elijah Mitchell to its practice squad this week. The Eagles also recently waived Jaydon Blue, the Cowboys’ fifth-round pick in 2025, from their active roster. Blue ran 38 times for 129 yards and 1 touchdown in five games for Dallas as a rookie.
Through four games before the injury, Barkley had 36 carries for 182 yards and no touchdowns. He added 4 catches for 8 yards. In 2024, his first season in Philadelphia, Barkley ran for 2,005 yards and was named AP Offensive Player of the Year. He was also a first-team All-Pro that season. Last season, he ran for 1,140 yards and 7 touchdowns on 280 carries.
Jalen Hurts On Injured Reserve As Dallas Cowboys Travel To Philadelphia
The Eagles will also be without quarterback Jalen Hurts on Monday. Philadelphia placed him on injured reserve Oct. 17. Two days later, the team and Hurts’ agent announced that further testing had revealed deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli. Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season, sources told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Rapoport reported that treatment with blood thinners is expected to sideline him for at least three months.
Specialists in London first diagnosed a superficial vein thrombosis in Hurts’ left calf, found by ultrasound after the team’s Saturday walkthrough before the Jaguars game. He was cleared to play that Sunday and threw a 62-yard touchdown pass.
Tanner McKee started in Hurts’ place against Carolina and went 26-of-45 for 215 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. The Panthers sacked him 3 times. McKee, Philadelphia’s sixth-round pick in 2023 out of Stanford, is set to make his second straight start Monday.
On Oct. 16, the Eagles signed quarterback Joe Milton III off the Cowboys’ practice squad. Milton went 29-of-43 for 378 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions in the preseason. Dallas waived him on Aug. 31 in its final roster cuts and brought him back on the practice squad.
Milton backed up Dak Prescott during the 2025 season and appeared in four games for Dallas. The New England Patriots selected him in the sixth round of the 2024 draft, 193rd overall. In five career regular-season games, he has completed 37 of 53 passes for 424 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Dallas has lost two straight, falling 24-16 at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 8 and 23-13 at the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. The Cowboys entered the Green Bay game allowing a league-worst 168.4 rushing yards per game. The Packers ran 26 times for 57 yards against them.
On Dec. 29, 2024, Barkley ran for 167 yards on 31 carries against Dallas at Lincoln Financial Field in a 41-7 Eagles win. His final carry that day, a 23-yard run, pushed him past 2,000 rushing yards for the season. Dallas won the most recent meeting, 24-21, at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025.
The New York Giants lead the NFC East at 3-2-1. Dallas hosts Philadelphia on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. CT on Fox.
