Can a Previously Overlooked Return Specialist Be a Difference Maker in the Eagles 2025 Run?
After Eagles rookie safety Andrew Mukuba was placed on the injured reserve with a broken ankle last week, Philadelphia made an interesting roster move. Britain Covey was promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad as the team heads into a critical point in its 2025 run. All season, the Eagles have been cycling through punt returners, with John Metchie III, Jahan Dotson, and Xavier Gipson in particular having seen some opportunities. However, with Gipson now injured, Metchie traded to the Jets, and with all making poor decisions on the field, the Birds have been in dire need of a strong returner to consistently put them in good field position. After a season of being overlooked, could giving Covey the chance to fulfill this role once again bode successful for the next stretch of the Eagles' schedule?
Early in his collegiate career, Britain Covey set a school record for the University of Utah with 1,092 return yards and was a three-time All-Pac 12 pick. Despite this, heading into the 2022 NFL Draft, his size was the main component that diverted teams from picking him up. He stands at five-foot-eight and is one of the smallest players in NFL history. The Eagles signed Covey in 2022 as an undrafted free agent because his scrappiness and big-play potential proved to be more significant than size. Then, in 2023, he led the league with 417 return yards and averaged 14.3 yards per return.
Now, his career average is 11.3 yards per punt return, but he hasn’t started any games in the 2025 season. After his Super Bowl win with the Eagles last February, he wasn’t re-signed by Philly and ended up taking a one-year deal with the Rams. He played during the preseason in LA but was waived, so he returned to the Eagles in late August, where he sat on the practice squad. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, amidst injuries and an unproductive return team, the Eagles officially brought Covey back onto the roster.
Having a solid asset like Covey on the return team could be essential to the Eagles' success moving forward. In their 2025 season, the Eagles' returners have too often called fair catch with no defender in sight or fielded balls when a touchback would make more sense. Just last week, against their fiercest rival in the Cowboys, Gipson fielded the ball on the one-yard line, just to fumble and set Dallas up in great field position. With Covey on the field instead, he could more consistently secure the ball and set the offense up for success, just like he did in 2023 and the first 13 weeks of the 2024 campaign, before his season ended with a neck injury.
Britain Covey went undrafted and has since been repeatedly underestimated. Stepping into the role of return specialist for the Eagles could potentially become a crucial piece in the final stretch of the season. Historically, his production, ball security, and consistency have been more elite than anyone else on the roster. If given the chance, he can provide the Eagles with things that have been seemingly absent all year: stability and the yards that have been left on the field.
