Auburn Professional Athletes

Eagles' Auburn Backfield Connection Takes a Hit

Philadelphia's running back room has been gutted by injury, and Auburn alumni are at the center of the chaos.

Tank Bigsby, the Eagles' primary backup behind Saquon Barkley, underwent core muscle surgery following Philadelphia's Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and was subsequently placed on injured reserve — a move that guarantees he'll miss at least four games and puts his entire season in serious jeopardy. Bigsby had shown flashes before going down, rushing for 55 yards in what turned out to be his final appearance of the year. The Eagles entered that Rams game already shorthanded, and the backfield situation only worsened when Barkley also exited with a hamstring injury that has him listed week-to-week.

With both Barkley and Bigsby sidelined heading into Week 5, the Eagles signed a veteran running back off the street and turned to Will Shipley to carry the load.

Shipley Gets His Moment

Will Shipley — the former Clemson Tiger-turned-Eagle who has spent most of his NFL career as a third-stringer — is expected to make just his second career start when Philadelphia travels to London to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5. Shipley addressed the opportunity head-on, publicly sharing his mindset ahead of the start and projecting confidence. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni also offered a public vote of confidence in the backfield depth, signaling the team isn't panicking despite the significant injury toll.

Shipley's first career start came during his rookie season in 2024. This one carries considerably higher stakes, with Philadelphia trying to stay afloat in a brutal NFC East race while missing multiple key contributors across the roster.

Elsewhere in the Auburn NFL Family

The injury bug wasn't limited to Philadelphia's backfield among Tigers alums this week.

Carlton Davis III, the Patriots' starting cornerback, was ruled out for Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders after missing practice time throughout the week. Davis was one of six Patriots ruled out for the game, leaving New England's secondary in a precarious spot.

In Pittsburgh, Jamel Dean — the Steelers' cornerback who did not practice Wednesday — was ruled out for the Week 5 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, adding another Auburn name to a lengthy NFL injury ledger this week.

Over in Indianapolis, Darius Slayton's short stint with the Colts got off to a rocky start. After spending his first two weeks simply learning the offense, Slayton picked up an injury in the lead-up to Week 5 in Pittsburgh and was listed as questionable before ultimately being ruled out, dealing another blow to an already-thin Colts receiver room.

The broader Auburn alumni footprint in the NFL remains wide — with Tigers scattered across rosters from Seattle to New Orleans — but this week belonged to the backfield drama unfolding in Philadelphia, where two Auburn products find themselves on opposite ends of the same injury crisis.

Auburn's NFL footprint was impossible to miss in Week 4, with a cornerback earning a captaincy, a rookie defensive end turning heads in Tennessee, and a veteran CB carted off in Pittsburgh under troubling circumstances.

Pritchett Gets the 'C' in Seattle

Nehemiah Pritchett was named one of four Seattle Seahawks captains for their Week 4 home matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers — a meaningful nod from head coach Mike Macdonald's staff for a player who has steadily built his standing in the secondary. Pritchett joined Uchenna Nwosu, Cooper Kupp, and Mike Morris as the week's captain designees, reflecting Seattle's rotating system that rewards performance and leadership alike.

The honor came on the heels of a tough Week 3 result: the Seahawks dropped a 33-31 gut-punch to the Washington Commanders, their first loss of the season. Pritchett was on the field for that one, as was fellow Auburn alum Derick Hall, who recorded a sack in the losing effort. Hall and the rest of the Seahawks' defense were vocal after reviewing the tape, sending a message that the loss stung — but didn't define them.

Faulk Is the Real Deal in Tennessee

If Titans fans are looking for silver linings in what has been a rough early stretch, Keldric Faulk is one of them. The Auburn defensive end is being called out as one of Tennessee's lone bright spots through the first month of the season, alongside first-round wideout Carnell Tate. Faulk notched a sack in the Titans' Week 3 loss to the New York Giants — one of the few individual performances the coaching staff can point to with genuine optimism. For a franchise deep in its rebuild, a rookie pass rusher who can win reps this early is exactly the kind of return on investment the front office needed.

Dean Goes Down in Pittsburgh

The most concerning Auburn storyline of the week came Thursday night in Pittsburgh. Veteran cornerback Jamel Dean went down with an injury late in the first half against the Cleveland Browns, exiting what turned out to be a 24-27 Pittsburgh loss. Details on the severity were not immediately disclosed, but the optics — a veteran corner leaving a divisional game early — are the kind that tend to linger heading into the bye week or trade deadline calculus. Dean had been on the field for Pittsburgh's Week 3 win over Cincinnati just days prior.

Around the Rest of the Roster

Elsewhere, Auburn's Daniel Carlson found himself in an unusual situation in New Orleans: the Saints opted to have safety Justin Reid handle a kickoff duty over Carlson in Week 3 against the Raiders — a one-time special-teams wrinkle that nonetheless raised eyebrows. New Orleans lost that game 27-35.

Jamien Sherwood's struggles in New York continued to draw scrutiny, with the Jets linebacker's early-season performance described as a growing concern heading into Week 4. And in Philadelphia, Tank Bigsby managed just one catch for five yards in the Eagles' Monday night loss to the Bears, a muted night for the Auburn back in a game that didn't go his team's way.

Week 4 was a mixed bag for War Eagle Nation — but between Pritchett's captaincy and Faulk's ascent, there's plenty to track.

Two Auburn alumni found themselves in the spotlight during Week 2 of the NFL season — one answering an injury call on the field, the other landing a fresh opportunity off it.

Tank Bigsby Delivers When the Eagles Needed It Most

When Saquon Barkley went down with a stinger early in Philadelphia's road matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Tank Bigsby stepped into the breach. The Auburn product finished with 33 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground, adding two receptions for five yards in a 24-20 Eagles win. The numbers were modest, but head coach Nick Sirianni wasn't measuring Bigsby solely in statistics.

Sirianni singled out Bigsby for praise after the game, crediting the running back's physical, team-first effort — exactly the kind of performance the Eagles value in their backup depth. Bigsby and Will Shipley combined for 20 carries for 57 yards after Barkley exited, carrying Philly's run game the rest of the afternoon in Nashville.

The aftermath only raised Bigsby's profile further. With Barkley managing a stinger heading into Week 3 — and Bigsby himself showing up on the injury report with an abdominal issue — fantasy managers and opposing defenses alike are keeping close tabs on the Auburn back. If Barkley misses time, Bigsby figures to be the primary beneficiary in one of the league's most dynamic offenses.

Darius Slayton Finds a New Home in Indianapolis

Meanwhile, Darius Slayton's NFL chapter took an unexpected turn — and then quickly righted itself. Released by the New York Giants before the start of the season after six years in New York, Slayton didn't stay unemployed for long. The Indianapolis Colts signed him ahead of Week 3, with wideout Alec Pierce heading to injured reserve after aggravating a heel injury during Sunday Night Football against the Chiefs.

The move carries a built-in chemistry angle: Slayton is reuniting with quarterback Daniel Jones, his former Giants signal-caller, who is now running Indianapolis's offense. Slayton addressed the connection directly, saying that he and Jones "see the field similarly" and expecting that familiarity to translate quickly. Their six seasons together in New York give the Colts reason for optimism — Slayton was a reliable deep threat throughout that stretch.

Indianapolis is expected to lean on Slayton as an immediate contributor in their receiving corps, with the veteran slotted in to fill the void Pierce leaves behind. For Slayton, it's a chance to prove that his Giants release was a roster decision, not a commentary on what he has left.

The Bigger Picture

Two Auburn alumni, two different circumstances — but the same underlying theme: stepping up when a door opens. Bigsby showed he's ready for a larger role if called upon in Philadelphia. Slayton bet on familiarity and fit to revive his career in Indianapolis. Both situations bear watching as the 2026 NFL season takes shape.

Auburn's NFL alumni are off to a rough start in 2026 — not on the field, but on the injury report. Two Tigers are already sidelined with significant setbacks, and the ripple effects are being felt in New England and Los Angeles.

Carlton Davis III: Out Before the Home Opener

Cornerback Carlton Davis III never made it onto the field for the Patriots' Week 2 home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After missing back-to-back practices Wednesday and Thursday with a neck injury, Davis was listed as questionable heading into the weekend — then downgraded to out on Saturday, leaving New England's secondary short-handed for one of the most anticipated games of their early season at Gillette Stadium.

The neck injury is the kind that commands attention league-wide. Davis had been a key offseason acquisition for a Patriots defense trying to rebuild its credibility, and his absence immediately forced coach Mike Vrabel to lean on depth options. Vrabel publicly backed Charles Woods, a third-year former Rams cornerback who has built his NFL career primarily on special teams, to absorb a larger defensive role. The Vikings worked out a handful of corners amid the Davis situation, a sign of how quickly the market reacts when a starter goes down at the position.

Davis's status beyond Week 2 remains unclear. A neck injury that sidelines a player through an entire week of practice is not something teams or players treat casually, and Auburn fans will be monitoring his timeline closely.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith: Straight to IR

The situation is even more definitive for wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith. The Chargers placed Lambert-Smith on injured reserve after he hurt his hamstring in Los Angeles's Week 1 loss to the Arizona Cardinals — a defeat that made the injury sting doubly. IR means Lambert-Smith will miss at least the next four weeks, wiping out a significant chunk of the early season for a receiver who was working to carve out a role in the Chargers' offense.

Hamstring injuries for receivers carry their own particular anxiety: they tend to linger, and the recurrence risk is real. Lambert-Smith, who made his way onto the Chargers' roster as a young playmaker with speed to burn, now faces the frustrating reality of watching from the sideline while the team establishes its identity in 2026.

Around the Rest of the Auburn Alumni

Away from the injury news, other Tigers had modest moments in Week 1. Kicker Daniel Carlson — now with the Saints after years in Las Vegas — made his New Orleans debut but missed a potential game-winning field goal in a 31-30 loss to the Detroit Lions, a brutal note to open the season on. Roger McCreary recorded a sack for the Lions in that same contest.

Tank Bigsby saw limited early action with the Eagles, gaining just three rushing yards behind Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia's narrow 24-22 win over Washington — a usage pattern that drew some scrutiny. Marcus Harris was elevated to the Chiefs' active roster for their Monday night win over the Broncos, providing depth at defensive tackle.

The bigger story this week, though, belongs to Davis and Lambert-Smith. Two Auburn players — on two coasts, for two franchises — entering Week 2 not in uniform.