Saquon Barkley will play for the Eagles on Sunday night at Washington, and DeVonta Smith will not. Pro Football Talk's Myles Simmons reported that Philadelphia will have its top running back but not its top receiver. Yahoo Sports carried the same report and also ran a separate item saying Smith is set to miss Week 8.
Barkley's status was the open question. ESPN reported that he did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and was a limited participant Friday. He carries no injury designation into the game. Bleeding Green Nation's Brandon Lee Gowton wrote that the Eagles issued their third and final injury report of the week on Friday. It lists Barkley without a game status, and Gowton wrote that he "will play on Sunday night." Barkley returned to practice on Friday, Gowton noted, though the excerpt we have cuts off before the details. None of the excerpts we have gives a reason for Smith's absence. They also don't say what injury, if any, kept Barkley out of practice earlier in the week.
Barkley's season has been uneven, and the 2026 game log shows gaps. Barkley has played in five games, with 43 carries for 244 yards (5.7 per carry) and one touchdown. His log has no entries for the Oct. 11 loss at Jacksonville or the Oct. 18 loss to Carolina. His best workload came in Week 1 against these same Commanders, when he had 15 carries for 83 yards, including a 42-yarder that is still his longest run of the year. He also had 15 carries for 82 yards at Chicago. In the 38-21 loss to Dallas on Monday, Oct. 26, he ran seven times for 62 yards and a touchdown. He added two catches for 9 yards in that game. He has just six receptions for 17 yards on the season.
Smith's last appearance in our archive was Oct. 18, against Carolina. He has no entry for the Dallas game, so Sunday would extend his time away. The Eagles will play without him in a game they need badly.
Sun, Nov 1, 8:20 PM ET
Philadelphia is 2-5, third in the NFC East, and has lost five in a row. The losses are 19-17 at Jacksonville, 25-14 to Carolina and the 38-21 defeat by Dallas in Monday's game. With Smith out, the Eagles' passing game loses its top option, and Barkley's availability matters more. His low receiving numbers suggest the offense may lean on his carries, but the reporting doesn't say how the Eagles plan to use him.
Kickoff against the Commanders is Sunday, Nov. 1. Barkley's limited Friday practice is the only workload information the outlets gave, and nothing in the reporting says whether Smith's absence extends beyond this game.
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