Bleeding Green Nation
Philadelphia’s primary punt returner could be back on the field soon.
The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced three roster moves on Wednesday afternoon. An overview:
Let’s sort through this news on a player-by-player basis.
Covey suffered a shoulder injury back in Week 3. At the time, he said he expected to miss at least six weeks. The Eagles placed him on injured reserve.
At the very least, Covey is now healthy enough to practice. Perhaps he’ll be ready to play as soon as Sunday when the Eagles take on the Los Angeles Rams.
Covey figures to take over punt returning duty when he’s back on the field. He’s arguably one of the best punt returners in the NFL; he averaged 14.4 yards on 29 returns in 2023. Covey’s sole punt return this year gained nine yards.
Cooper DeJean has looked good returning punts in Covey’s absence; his 14 returns have resulted in a 11.8 average. But one would figure the Eagles would ideally like to decrease his special teams role since he’s playing a lot of snaps as the team’s nickel cornerback. Vic Fangio previously mentioned he’s not a big fan of seeing DeJean take hits as a returner.
Covey also might have a role — albeit a small one — in the offense. He caught all seven of his targets (for just 34 yards) over the first three weeks before getting hurt. Covey’s return might lead to rookie wide receiver Ainias Smith being a healthy scratch on game day.
The Eagles could open up a roster spot for Covey by placing Bryce Huff on injured reserve. Huff is expected to miss multiple games after undergoing a procedure on Thursday for his wrist injury.
The Eagles originally signed Ika to their practice squad on October 23 only to release him six days later. Now the big man is back.
Here’s what we previously wrote about him:
After playing college football at LSU and Baylor, Ika was selected by the Cleveland Browns with a third-round pick (No. 98 overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Ika only played 100 defensive snaps as a rookie, logging zero stats. The Browns waived him in late August and then re-signed him to the practice squad. Then they cut him two days after the Browns’ loss to the Eagles.
Now in Philly, the 6’3”, 335 pound Ika figures to provide nose tackle depth behind Jordan Davis. Of course, Ika is a lot less athletic than Davis is.
We’ll see if Ika’s able to stick longer this time around.
The Eagles originally signed Philips in early September. He’s a slot receiver/punt returner type. Now that Covey is on track to return, the Eagles deemed Philips expendable.
EAGLES PRACTICE SQUAD...
