Britain Covey has heard all of the nicknames. "The Mormon Missile." "Crash Test Covey."
"In the meeting today, Coach (Michael) Clay (Special Teams Coordinator) called me a 'psychopath,' in an endearing tone, of course," Covey said, laughing, during the week of preparation leading up to the Raiders game. "I know what he means. I know what it looks like out there. But there is always a method to the madness, a willingness to stick my head in there and get 6 yards when it looks like there is only 3 yards available and all of sudden your unit blocks a little harder for you."
Covey is back as the Eagles' primary return man and, wow, what a trip it's been.
He joined the Eagles in the 2022 season as a rookie free agent out of Utah and made the roster and grew into his return man role. By 2023, Covey was one of the best punt return men in the league with an NFL-best 417 punt return yards, including two 50-plus-yard returns, 16 returns of 10-plus yards, 13 returns of 15-plus yards, 7 returns of 20-plus yards, and five returns of 25-plus yards – all most in the league.
Then, in 2024, Covey worked his way into the wide receiver rotation before suffering a broken shoulder in late September. He was briefly back on the active roster late in the year, but his shoulder never fully mended and Covey was relegated to Injured Reserve through the Super Bowl LIX run.
An unrestricted free agent after the season, Covey signed with the Rams and hoped for a fresh start. But he didn't make the 53-man roster there and two days later joined the Eagles' practice squad.
Now he's on the 53-man roster here and Covey is making waves. He averaged 18 yards on three punt returns on Monday night against the Chargers and also has given the Eagles positive field position in the kickoff return game.
"It's been wild. I mean, wild," he said. "It took me three years to break the wide receiver rotation and when I finally started to feel I was one of the four main guys, I was injured. It was really tough, really hard. Working all the way back through it gave me an appreciation and a vigor that I haven't felt since my rookie season. I feel like I'm the best player I've ever been."
Covey's philosophy is to "always get up before the guy who tackled me gets up. One, you don't give them satisfaction. Two, you don't make your wife nervous. And three, you inspire your teammates. That's kind of how I've always felt. It's a mindset."
Even when he broke his shoulder during the 2024 season after catching a pass and being tackled, Covey bounced right back up. He was in pain, substantial pain, but he bounced back up. Toughness. Determination. A defined sense of purpose. That's what defines Covey, who knows only one way to do it.
"I had a coach say to me once, 'If you hesitate, you die.' It looks like I get hit hard, but I feel like I avoid some of the bigger hits because I don't hesitate," Covey said. "I get vertical, north and south, and that is something I decided early in my career that I would be definitive in my intentions and movements."
Things are looking up for Covey and for the Eagles' return game. He is "one block away from breaking one," but the goal is to be stable, to keep moving north-south, and to set up the offense with the best field position possible. As he's talking in the locker room at the NovaCare Complex, Covey hears his teammates walking by.
"Beast," says tight end Cameron Latu.
"Warrior," says outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt.
"I feel like a weapon. I really do. I hit my max speed in practice last week and I'm ready. I feel very good and healthy and I put on four pounds," he said. "It's communication with your unit and that is going great. I'm not going to lie to you – it was difficult all those weeks not playing, being on the practice squad and watching on gamedays.
"I did everything I could to help the team. It was a challenge – helping the team and at the same time making myself better and hoping for a chance to play. Now I'm out there and it feels great and I'm going to enjoy every bit of this and do what I can to help win games for the Eagles."
