The Philadelphia Eagles announced the 13 players that they added to the practice squad for the 2026 season on Monday afternoon. However, the Eagles had four available spots, thanks to Uar Bernard receiving the IPP designation, to add more talent after the roster cutdown deadline on Sunday evening.
On Monday night, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Eagles signed former Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue to the taxi squad. Blue, who was drafted in the fifth round by Dallas in the 2025 NFL Draft, was surprisingly waived by the Cowboys on Sunday.
No team claimed Blue off waivers, making him a free agent and ultimately allowing the Eagles to boost their overall running back depth. Philadelphia now has three running backs on its practice squad, with Blue joining Dameon Pierce and Carson Steele.
The Eagles are quite familiar with the 22-year-old running back as they hosted him for a top-30 visit and had a formal meeting ahead of last year’s draft, per Devin Jackson of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The former University of Texas running back didn’t see the field a ton last season, as he was a healthy scratch for most of his rookie campaign. Blue appeared in five games, rushing for 129 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries. He also saw some time on special teams, averaging 24 yards per kickoff return (three attempts).
That said, for a guy who was a playmaker in college and ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, the hope was that he would do a bit more as a rookie. But that wasn’t the case, as Blue lost out to Malik Davis for the RB2 job this summer, even though he ran for 94 yards on 23 carries in two preseason games. He also averaged 24.5 yards per kick return on two attempts.
What could Blue’s role be with the Eagles?
Now, that leads us to the Eagles and how they could use the former fifth-round pick this season. As things stand, Philadelphia has three running backs on the 53-man roster: Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby, and Will Shipley.
Shipley will likely be on kick return duty again this season after averaging 26.8 yards per return in 2025. However, the Eagles will need another option back there with Shipley. Luckily for Philadelphia, it has a few options at its disposal, such as Britain Covey, Pierce, and Blue, who are on the practice squad.
During the regular season, NFL teams are allowed to elevate two players from the taxi squad per week. This gives them a chance to see time on the field in a particular game before returning to the practice squad. These players can be elevated from the taxi squad to the gameday roster a maximum of three times.
Now, if that team wants to bring up that player for a fourth time, they would have to officially sign him to the 53-man roster.
This means that, in theory, the Eagles could rotate among Covey, Pierce, and Blue to see what they could add on special teams. At the University of Texas, Blue had three kick return attempts during his three-year career. The same amount he had with the Cowboys.
However, if you’re the Eagles and looking to utilize Blue’s speed, special teams could be one way to get him on the field quickly. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if the Eagles can do something with the former Cowboys running back, who still has a ton of upside entering his second year.
