Eagles preparing for life without tight end Dallas Goedert
Sources said he suffered a broken forearm against the Cowboys. The Eagles could turn to the three tight ends on their roster, sign a free agent, or pluck a player from another team's practice squad.
Tight end Dallas Goedert suffered a broken forearm against the Dallas Cowboys, sources told The Inquirer late Sunday, and coach Nick Sirianni and the Eagles are planning for the immediate future without him.
The Eagles have three other tight ends on the 53-man roster who will have the opportunity to step up, including Grant Calcaterra, Jack Stoll, and Albert Okwuegbunam, along with practice squad player E.J. Jenkins.
Calcaterra missed Sunday’s win over the Cowboys with a concussion he suffered last week against Washington, but he returned to practice as a limited participant on Friday, a good sign for his availability after the bye week.
“We like the guys that we have on this roster,” Sirianni said on Monday. “We’re excited about them. We’re excited about them to get an opportunity.”
Goedert was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Monday to confirm the initial testing and assess additional damage.
Goedert’s injury occurred late in the third quarter on the end of a 28-yard catch-and-run that placed the Eagles inside the red zone.
Before being tackled by Cowboys linebacker Markquese Bell, Goedert attempted to stiff-arm Bell with his right arm. Bell held onto Goedert’s arm as he brought him to the ground, and Goedert also appeared to land on the forearm. He then received medical attention before he retreated directly indoors.
The Eagles went three-and-out on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter, but Sirianni bristled at the notion that the failures on those drives were because of Goedert’s absence.
Additionally, Sirianni acknowledged the possibility of general manager Howie Roseman looking for an extra set of hands externally. The trade deadline has passed, but the Eagles could peruse the free-agent market or they could poach a player from another team’s practice squad. If they did the latter, the Eagles would have to sign that player to the active roster.
“We’ll always look for the best ways to make this team better,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, you’re limited as far as any trades or anything like that. We’re hopeful Dallas will make a good, clean recovery and be back when he’s ready to be back. I know Howie does a great job, always looking to improve the football team.”
The Eagles have not placed Goedert on injured reserve, but if they did so he would miss four games, per league rules, after the bye week.
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Sirianni also said that the responsibility to step up in the absence of Goedert does not fall exclusively on the remaining tight ends on the roster. He said there are “different ways you can supplement” the offense in the absence of Goedert by using different personnel groupings.
In one example at the end of the game against the Cowboys, the Eagles used a 13 personnel version of their signature Tush Push play when they were backed up on their own 1-yard line. Instead of a third tight end, they used backup tackle Jack Driscoll in that role.
“We’re not obviously into game-planning yet,” Sirianni said. “We did a big review of our game today. And then tomorrow will be self-scout stuff. We’ll work in the game plan later in the week, where we’ll think more about that. But we know we have options, not only with the guys in the room, but also guys that aren’t in the room out of different personnel groupings.”
But it will be challenging for the Eagles to compensate for Goedert’s absence entirely. He has 38 catches for 410 yards (eighth among NFL tight ends) and two touchdowns this season.
He is also highly regarded both as a run blocker and as a pass blocker. Pro Football Focus ranks Goedert third in run blocking and fourth in pass blocking among NFL tight ends who have taken at least 125 blocking snaps this season.
Goedert missed five games on IR during the 2022 season with a shoulder injury. He still finished last year as the team’s third-leading receiver with 702 yards across 55 catches.
Staff writers Jeff McLane and Josh Tolentino contributed to this article.