Eagles veteran ready to prove he belongs after sitting all year: ‘Nothing surprises me’

PHILADELPHIA — He isn’t the biggest nor the fastest, but Eagles returner Britain Covey always finds ways to make opponents miss tackles on kickoffs and punts.

On Monday against the Los Angeles Chargers, in his second game back as the Eagles’ punt and kick returner, Covey showed off the spark he could be for the Eagles’ offense. He averaged 18 yards per punt return and 25.8 yards per kickoff return, giving the Eagles’ struggling offense good field position in the team’s 22-19 overtime loss.

Covey, who spent the first three years of his career with the Eagles, signed with the Los Angeles Rams this past offseason, but he didn’t make the 53-man roster out of training camp. He returned to Philadelphia’s practice squad before Week 1 and spent 12 weeks there before being promoted to the active roster in Week 13.

During his first stint with the Eagles, Covey was considered one of the NFL’s best punt returners. After not playing in an NFL game since Week 12 of last season due to a neck injury, he made his return against the Bears in Week 13 of this season.

“I think when you see a neck on an injury report, everybody kind of labels you,” Covey told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. “I’m really glad to get back out there simply for the fact that it shows everyone that I’m healthy again, and I’ve been healthy all year. But until you show it on the field, I think there is always a little sliver of doubt in people’s minds just because they see the neck on the injury report, and it’s scary.”

With a below-average offense ranking 22nd in both rushing and passing, the Eagles need their defense and special teams to create shorter fields to put them in better field positions. It starts wth Covey on Special teams.

“Really just hoping to give us good field position because I feel like that’s been a big struggle for us all year,” Covey said. “The playbook is so limited when you are backed up. I don’t care about my average … But there’s a certain yard line they give me where I can catch it on. And if I can get five yards, I’m gonna do that because there’s a big difference between the ball starting at the 13 and the ball starting at the 8.”

Covey did not return to full strength until the spring, as the nerves in his neck took about six months to fully recover.

The 5-8, 173-pounder also missed seven games in 2024 with a shoulder injury, finishing the season with just 46 punt-return yards on six attempts.

When fully healthy in 2023, he led the league in punt return yards with 417 and had the second-highest average per return with 14.4.

While two games are a small sample size, Covey is back on track as one of the league’s best punt returners, averaging a career-best 15.8 yards per return with 125 total yards against the Bears and Chargers.

Despite Covey having the strongest track record of any returner on Philadelphia’s roster, the Eagles initially turned to other options — first Jahan Dotson, then Xavier Gipson — before circling back to him.

Gipson returned punts from Week 7 to Week 12 of this season. He fumbled a return and hurt his shoulder against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12, leading to the team’s decision to waive him this past week.

Dotson returned punts in the first six weeks of the season, averaging just 9.6 yards per return.

“I mean, nothing surprises me at this point,” Covey said when asked if he’s surprised he didn’t get an opportunity sooner.

Covey’s best return against the Chargers happened in the fourth quarter. After he received it at the 5-yard line, Covey had his facemask yanked by Chargers cornerback Benjamin St.-Juste, but he broke free and made two more Chargers defenders miss for a 22-yard gain to the Eagles’ 27.

In addition to that highlight play, he also had returns of 14 and 18 yards.

“I worked really hard to get back to where I’m at now, and it’s been super meaningful because of that,” Covey said.

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