Eagles placing Willie Lampkin on injured reserve among 5 roster moves

The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced five roster moves on Friday afternoon. Here’s an overview:

• G/C Willie Lampkin was placed on injured reserve.
• RB Audric Estimê and DB Ambry Thomas were signed to the practice squad.
• CB Eli Ricks and WR Terrace Marshall were released from the practice squad.

Let’s sort through this news on a player-by-player basis.

WILLIE LAMPKIN

The Eagles claimed Lampkin off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams earlier this week. Lampkin was cut by the Rams with a “waived/injured” designation due to the knee injury he suffered in the preseason. Lampkin reportedly indicated that his injury isn’t too serious and that he’ll be able to be “back soon.”

By going on IR, Lampkin is automatically ineligible to play in the Eagles’ first four games. He can be activated as early as Week 5, if the Eagles choose to use one of their seven remaining designated for return slots on him. We’ll eventually see if that’s the case.

Lampkin to IR notably opens up a roster spot for the Eagles. The recently re-signed Marcus Epps stands out as the top candidate for that opening since the team currently only has three safeties on the active roster and one of them (Andrew Mukuba) is dealing with a hamstring injury. Britain Covey is another candidate to be signed but it seems like the Eagles can probably get away with temporarily elevating him to be the punt returner for a few weeks before later adding him to the roster, if so desired.

AUDRIC ESTIMÉ

This practice squad signing was originally reported on Wednesday but didn’t become official until now. Estimé is the fourth running back under team control behind Saquon Barkley, Will Shipley, and A.J. Dillon on the roster.

AMBRY THOMAS

The Thomas signing was reported on Thursday evening. His addition gives the Birds another cornerback with starting experience.

ELI RICKS

The Eagles waived Ricks earlier this week only to bring him back on the practice squad. Once a promising undrafted rookie free agent signing in 2023, Ricks thereafter struggled to establish a role on the team. He was mostly a healthy scratch as the team’s seventh cornerback in 2024. He had some good moments this summer but the bad ones outweighed those to the point where he was demoted on the depth chart. And now he’s been replaced by Ambry Thomas.

TERRACE MARSHALL

Marshall had some good moments in spring practices and early in training camp before suffering an injury that derailed his summer. He never recovered from that and was ultimately outshined by UDFA signing Darius Cooper, who made the roster over him. Marshall’s lack of special teams experience doesn’t do him any favors in terms of being a depth player. The Eagles are reportedly expected to sign wide receiver Javon Baker to the practice squad, though that move wasn’t made official here.