Eagles open the 21-day window for Landon Dickerson; Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith nonparticipants in practice
Along with Dickerson, rookie tight end Eli Stowers, tight end Grant Calcaterra, and defensive back Jakorian Bennett had their practice windows opened and returned to practice on Wednesday.
The Eagles opened the 21-day practice windows for four players on injured reserve — including left guard Landon Dickerson (knee) and tight end Eli Stowers (quadriceps/hamstring) — but a couple of key offensive players did not participate.
Running back Saquon Barkley (hamstring) was missing entirely.Wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring/toe) was catching passes from the JUGS machine on a separate field while the rest of the team stretched. Smith, 27, was not in uniform.
Smith has missed the last two weeks with the lingering hamstring injury that dates back to training camp. The toe injury was a new addition to the injury report on Wednesday.
Barkley, 29, was inactive this past week after he dropped out early in the Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and did not return to action.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Monday that he was “hopeful” he would get Smith and Barkley back this week, but he acknowledged that there was “a lot of time left” before Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers (1 p.m., CBS3).
Meanwhile, Dickerson, Stowers, tight end Grant Calcaterra, and defensive back Jakorian Bennett returned to practice as the Eagles opened their practice windows on Wednesday. All four players were limited participants in practice. They have 21 days to practice before the team must decide whether to activate them to the 53-man roster or place them on season-ending injured reserve.
Dickerson said he was happy to be back at practice, acknowledging that he felt “a lot better than [he] did Week 1.” He said he had been dealing with a bone bruise and “some other stuff” in his knee since the end of training camp.
Dickerson said he had “no idea” if he was going to be activated off injured reserve and return to the lineup against the Panthers. He said he is taking it “day by day” this week. Still, he said he felt he can get back to the player he was before his injuries.
“Last year was definitely [lousy], kind of being hurt the whole year, and then starting off this year, the goal was make it to the start of season healthy, which didn’t happen,” Dickerson said. “So I’m glad [I’m] able to get ahead of it and not have to do the same thing I did last year. So confident, and I think obviously, how I feel, and then how the coaches feel, as long as I look good out there, and they think I’m looking good, and yeah, you just kind of go from there.”
Sirianni was noncommittal about Dickerson, who has started at left guard for 78 games since the Eagles drafted him in the second round out of Alabama in 2021, reassuming the starting gig upon his return. Willie Lampkin, the 2025 undrafted free agent out of North Carolina, made his NFL debut at left guard on Sunday.
“We have so much time to be able to discuss those things,” Sirianni said. “But Landon’s a hell of a player, and he’s been a hell of a player for us. You’ve got to see where you are at that particular time.
“I’m not going to discuss too much of that. But we love Landon. I know that.”
Stowers, the rookie second-rounder out of Vanderbilt, was placed on injured reserve the day before the season opener against the Washington Commanders. Leading up to the game, Stowers said at the time he had planned to play, even though he had been a limited participant in practice all week.
But Stowers said on Wednesday that his quad was bothering him, too, and when he underwent an MRI on the Friday night before the game, the injury was worse than he thought. On Wednesday, he took one step closer to a return, practicing for the first time in over a month.
“I feel good, man,” Stowers said. “It’s good to be able to get my body back healthy to the point where I can get on the field. That’s my goal. Every single day, I want to figure out what’s the best way that I can get myself better as a player for the team, and I think the best way to do that is get on the field and do it. So for this to be the first day for me to do that, it felt good.”
In addition to the four players on injured reserve, safety Marcus Epps (groin) and wide receiver Hollywood Brown (ankle) returned to practice as limited participants. Epps was sidelined for the last two games after he popped up on the injury report before the game against the Rams.
Brown has missed the last three games. The 29-year-old receiver has been active for just one contest this season: the Week 2 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard (ankle), who was questionable entering Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and ultimately was inactive, was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice. Outside linebacker A.J. Epenesa (back), tight end EJ Jenkins (toe), right guard Tyler Steen (shoulder), and wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (hamstring) were also limited.
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Offensive lineman Drew Kendall (knee), defensive back Michael Carter II (abdomen), running back Will Shipley (foot), and edge rusher Jalyx Hunt (knee/ankle) did not participate. Carter, Shipley, and Hunt sustained in-game injuries against the Jaguars. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Tuesday that it would be “pretty miraculous” for Hunt to play against the Panthers.
ESPN reported on Monday that Shipley suffered a partial tear of his plantar fascia (tissue on the bottom of his foot) and that he could be sidelined for “multiple weeks.”
Kendall was inactive against the Jaguars, so the Eagles turned to Jake Majors, the 2025 undrafted free agent out of Texas, to start at center.
The Eagles also listed quarterback Jalen Hurts (calf), inside linebacker Zack Baun (shoulder), inside linebacker Jihaad Campbell (knee/wrist), defensive tackle Jalen Carter (wrist), outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie (shoulder), offensive tackle Fred Johnson (knee), and safety Andrew Mukuba (shoulder) as full participants on Wednesday’s injury report.
In total, 24 Eagles players were listed on the first injury report of the week.
The Eagles are back from London, looking to leave the disappointment of a last-second defeat behind while choosing instead to focus on lessons they can learn from a third straight loss. And you know what? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane actually thinks there were encouraging takeaways from the game, outcome aside. He and Mike Sielski discussed why the Eagles’ sky, despite being gray, isn’t falling just yet, and what the team can build on to if it hopes to reverse its fortunes during a key stretch of the schedule that begins Sunday. Listen here.
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