About one hour after the Philadelphia Eagles announced Jalen Hurts is going to miss Sunday's game due to a blood clot , the team made a transaction that has nothing to do with their quarterback situation.
The Eagles signed free agent running back Ian Wheeler to their practice squad.
Wheeler, who turned 25 in September, played college football at Howard before going unpicked in the 2024 NFL Draft. He had stints with the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Louisville Kings (UFL), and most recently the Buffalo Bills, who cut him in late August.
Wheeler earned his shot with the Bills through his United Football League success :
Wheeler played an important role for the 2026 UFL Champion Louisville Kings, being named the 2026 UFL United Bowl MVP after helping his team to a 27-20 victory over the DC Defenders. In nine regular season games, Wheeler finished fourth in the UFL in rushing yards with 370 on 68 carries, and second in rushing touchdowns with 6. He also added 13 kick returns for 370 yards and a 28.5 yards per return average. His 776 all purpose yards were good for fifth in the league.
The Eagles are currently expected to be missing their top three running backs in Week 6. Saquon Barkley is still dealing with a hamstring injury, Tank Bigsby is on injured reserve, and Will Shipley is expected to miss multiple games due to a foot issue. The Eagles currently have Dameon Pierce and Carson Steele as their only backfield options on the roster.
Wheeler joins former Dallas Cowboys draft pick Jaydon Blue as more running back depth on the practice squad.
(Note: The Eagles brought in Ja'Quinden Jackson for a free agent visit earlier this week and were reportedly set to sign him but the team never announced that move. Perhaps something changed and they decided to go with Wheeler instead.)
Note: Practice squad players can be temporarily elevated to the game day roster up to three times each in the regular season. Players listed below have three elevations remaining unless otherwise noted.
TE Zach Ertz (zero elevations remaining)
OT John Ojukwu (two elevations remaining)
OL Kiran Amegadjie
RB Jaydon Blue
OL James Brockermeyer
DB Dean Clark
WR Erik Ezukanma
WR Xavier Gipson
DT Gabe Hall
EDGE Keyshawn James-Newby
EDGE Mason Reiger
OL Xavier Truss
EDGE Joshua Weru
RB Ian Wheeler
DT Zion Wilson
S Cole Wisniewski
…
PRACTICE SQUAD INJURED LIST
DT Uar Bernard
