Dameon Pierce and the Eagles’ Week 5 Running Back Options

With Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby likely unavailable, the Eagles may look to their practice squad for help at running back.

SportsOctober 7, 20263 min readHow Sureno writes this

The short version

Dameon Pierce is among Philadelphia’s practice-squad running backs and is the most experienced back in that group, the Inquirer reports ².
The Eagles may be short at running back for Week 5: Barkley is likely to miss the game with a hamstring injury, while Bigsby is expected to go on injured reserve ².
Pierce’s rookie year with Houston included 939 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 220 carries, according to the Inquirer ².
No supplied report confirms whether the Eagles will activate Pierce or give him a role against Jacksonville ².

Who is Dameon Pierce?

Dameon Pierce is a professional football running back whose NFL career began with Houston. The Texans chose him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, after he played college football at Florida ³.

He is now part of Philadelphia’s practice squad. Practice-squad players train with a team but are not automatically included among the players available for a game. The Inquirer calls Pierce the most experienced running back in the Eagles’ building apart from Barkley ².

Why is Dameon Pierce in the news?

The attention follows a cluster of Eagles injuries at running back. Barkley left the Week 4 loss to the Rams with a hamstring injury. Bigsby was also expected to land on injured reserve because of a core muscle injury that would require surgery ¹².

Ahead of the Eagles’ Week 5 game against Jacksonville, the Inquirer reported that Barkley was likely to be unavailable. It also said Will Shipley was the only running back on the active roster at that time, leaving practice-squad players as possible additions ². Pierce is one of those options.

What are Dameon Pierce’s career numbers?

The supplied reporting highlights Pierce’s first NFL season with Houston: he recorded 939 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 220 carries ². That gives readers a snapshot of his rookie-year workload and production.

Those numbers do not establish how the Eagles would use him now. The sources do not provide a complete account of his later career, nor do they report a current role or expected workload in Philadelphia.

Will Pierce play against Jacksonville?

That had not been confirmed in the reports supplied here. The Inquirer said Philadelphia could bring in help from its practice squad or seek a player from outside the organization; it did not say Pierce had been promoted or would appear in the game ².

Barkley was described as week-to-week, and Bigsby was expected to go on injured reserve ². Those updates explain why the team needed to consider depth, but they do not identify the final game-day roster or the eventual distribution of carries.

What should an ordinary reader take from this?

Pierce is a possible depth option, not a confirmed replacement for Barkley. The story matters because injuries have made Philadelphia’s running back choices a question heading into Week 5 ².

A player being discussed as a possible call-up is not the same as a confirmed starter. The available reports describe the situation before the Jaguars game and do not establish later roster decisions or outcomes ².

What we don't know yet

Whether the Eagles will elevate Pierce from the practice squad.
Whether Pierce will be active or play against Jacksonville.
How long Barkley will be unavailable; the report calls his status week-to-week ².
Which running backs will be on the final game-day roster and how the work will be divided.

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Questions people ask

Is Dameon Pierce an Eagle?

The Inquirer identifies Pierce as a running back on Philadelphia’s practice squad ². A practice-squad listing does not by itself mean he is on the active roster for a game.

Why are the Eagles considering practice-squad running backs?

Barkley was likely to miss Week 5 with a hamstring injury, and Bigsby was expected to go on injured reserve ². The Eagles therefore had fewer running backs available on the active roster.

What did Dameon Pierce do in his rookie season?

With Houston, Pierce rushed for 939 yards and four touchdowns on 220 attempts in his rookie season, the Inquirer reports ². The Texans drafted him in the fourth round in 2022 ²³.

Is Dameon Pierce starting against the Jaguars?

The supplied reporting does not confirm that Pierce will start or even be activated. It describes him as one possible practice-squad reinforcement ².

Who could carry the ball for the Eagles if Barkley is out?

The Inquirer named Will Shipley as the only running back on the active roster at the time of its report and discussed practice-squad players, including Pierce, as potential help ². The report did not settle the final roster or playing roles.

Sources

Eagles Injury Tracker: List of players grows after Week 4 loss — Bleeding Green Nation, 2026-10-04
What are the Eagles’ running back options with Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby out? — Inquirer.com, 2026-10-06
Dameon Pierce — Wikipedia

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