FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Wendell Smallwood and Matt Jones had golden opportunities to gain some ground Thursday night in the battle for the fourth, and possibly fifth, running-back spots on the Eagles’ season-opening roster.
With their primary competition for those one or two jobs — Donnel Pumphrey and rookie Josh Adams — both sidelined with injuries, and with Jay Ajayi the only other running back scheduled to play against the Patriots, Smallwood and Jones knew they were going to get a lot of reps in the game.
“We only had three backs suited up,’’ Smallwood said. “And I knew [Ajayi] wasn’t going to play very long.