As we wait patiently for word of Jalen Carter’s possible suspension, Adam Schefter hit us with news that the Eagles are acquiring running back Tank Bigsby. Let’s break it down.
The Deal
Bigsby is coming from Jacksonville in exchange for 5th and 6th round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. I don’t like to ever just burn draft picks, but the Eagles do have late round picks to spare. Considering how loaded with young talent this team is, they now distill their pick cache from 12 down to a more manageable 10 picks.
Bigsby is still on his rookie contract which was a standard 4/$5.4m deal. He is making $1.2m this year and won’t affect the cap too much if at all considering he is right around the Top 51 line. He is under contract for next year too at a non-guaranteed $1.4m.
Who is Tank Bigsby?
Bigsby just turned 24 and is in his 3rd year out of Auburn as the 88th pick in the 2023 Draft. After a nothing first year for the Jags, he broke out in year 2 with 766 yards on 168 attempts. That’s a healthy 4.6 yards per carry behind a pretty bad offensive line. He managed 7 TDs despite being in a time share with Travis Etienne.
Speaking of Etienne, he was considered the starter in Jacksonville last year but was significantly outgained by Bigsby. That being said, in the first game this season Etienne went off for 143 yards including a big gainer of 71. Tank only had 4 carries. I guess the Jags were no longer interested in the time share.
Physically, Bigsby is a bit different for a running back. He is 6′ tall and only 210 pounds which doesn’t exactly match his “Tank” moniker. Still, he is strong and fairly adept at getting what he needs to as seen by his 50% success rate and 39 first downs on 168 carries. He doesn’t have incredible straight line speed but has good acceleration.
Why?
Saquon Barkley led the league in carries last year. It seemed like the plan for this season was to legitimately limit the wear and tear on his body mostly with Will Shipley, but also the Quadfather, AJ Dillon. Unfortunately, Shipley hurt his ribs in Week 1 against the Cowboys and Dillon wasn’t exactly spry. There has not been an update on Shipley, but with the trade for Bigsby, you can assume it is either worse than we first assumed or has the possibility of nagging throughout the year considering the area of the body.
It is also possible that Howie just never sleeps and is constantly looking to upgrade. While Dillon is a savvy veteran with serious legs, he simply can’t match a 24-year-old. If the Jags simply wanted to give the keys to Etienne and not lead Bigsby on in the running back room, it makes sense that Howie pounced on the opportunity.
Considering how bad his situation was last year, Bigsby could have himself a nice season behind the Eagles elite offensive line.
There’s also word that he is being used as a kick and punt returner. He has limited experience with only a couple returns as a pro, but has the job as a freshman at Auburn. Still, in 6 kick returns last year, he averaged over 30 yards per despite no real breakers. Solid. At least we won’t get Cooper DeJean killed out there.
What’s Next?
The Eagles have made several late offseason trades including bringing in Jakorian Bennett, Sam Howell, and Za’Darius Smith. Rumor was that Howie put in the biggest offer for Micah Parsons as well. He is always on the lookout and the powder is still dry.
Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference and contract info courtesy of Spotrac
Philly Front Office 
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