Philadelphia Eagles special team coach Michael Clay benched Tank Bigsby during the team's Week 6 loss to the New York Giants, but he is not ready to bury him just yet.
Clay benched Bigsby after the latter dropped a kickoff in the loss, a mistake that caused head coach Nick Sirianni to yell out in frustration. After the game, Clay noted that Bigsby will not be shelved for the year just yet, but also made a point to say that the Eagles “have a lot of options.”
“It's not like you're going to get benched for the year after one mistake, but we have a lot of options,” Clay said, via Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
One of those options is AJ Dillon, whom the team turned to on kickoffs after benching Bigsby. Dillon proceeded to commit an even worse mistake than Bigsby by dropping his first kickoff out of bounds, setting the Eagles up at their own five-yard line. He followed that up by fumbling seven plays later to end Philadelphia's final drive of the game.
Dillon is clearly not the answer, leaving fans to wonder who Clay is thinking about. The Eagles have used running back Will Shipley on special teams before, and have longtime return specialist Britain Covey signed to their practice squad. Philadelphia also lists Cooper DeJean and John Metchie III as backup returners on its depth chart.
Eagles face several issues as schedule piles up
Special teams are one area of concern as the Eagles are quickly turning into a mess with the 2025 season reaching its midway point. Philadelphia's internal issues have been widely reported over the past few weeks, with some believing that they have already affected the defending champions' locker room.
The Eagles have no time to sit back and reflect as their season quickly unravels. Philadelphia owns a 4-2 record through six games, but it has looked lost all year, even in its victories.
The Eagles face a vulnerable Minnesota Vikings team in Week 7, still led by backup quarterback Carson Wentz. As exploitable as that game is, it is certainly a must-win scenario for Philadelphia.
After facing the Vikings, the Eagles rematch the Giants in Week 8, just two weeks after the lopsided Week 6 result. Even with that game being played at Lincoln Financial Field, they will be entirely against the wall if they do not snap their skid against Minnesota in Week 7.
