Inside the Eagles’ locker room: Jordan Davis’ ‘incredible’ time singing; Dallas Goedert hopes ‘the best’ for Zach Ertz

The Eagles apparently are collecting guys named Jordan who are at least 6-foot-6, weigh a minimum 300 pounds, play football, and have impressive singing chops.

Second-year defensive tackle Jordan Davis joined some of the Eagles offensive linemen, including left tackle Jordan Mailata, during their recording of this year’s holiday album called A Philly Special Christmas Special. Davis sang a verse on their rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

As Davis recorded his part in the studio, Mailata was shown in a video posted to social media on Tuesday hyping him up in the background.

“It was incredible,” Davis said of the experience. “I’m really grateful that I have something to show for it. Something to give my mom for Christmas. Something tangible. She hasn’t heard me sing since fifth grade. Not a lot of people know that I can sing. I don’t even think I can sing at the time. But Mailata, he helped pull that out of me. Gave me the confidence and just find it within myself. And that goes a long way.”

While growing up in Charlotte, N.C., Davis participated in theater in fifth grade and middle school. One of his most notable roles was Edgar Balthazar in The Aristocats. In high school, he started focusing on sports, and theater fell by the wayside. Davis said he would consider getting back into acting during the offseason or when he retires from professional football.

Davis’ mother, Shay Allen, heard his feature for the first time when she saw the video clip that came out on Tuesday.

“She was like, ‘It almost brought me to tears,’ ” Davis said. “She hears me messing around and singing around the house. But just taking something serious and being serious about singing. I used to be an actor. I used to be into theater. But for me to take it serious again, she wasn’t expecting that.”

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When the Eagles traded tight end Zach Ertz to the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 15, 2021, Dallas Goedert became the team’s top player at the position.

Now, Ertz’s chapter with the Cardinals has come to an end. He requested his release from the team on Thursday and cleared waivers on Friday, a source told The Inquirer, making him free to sign with any team. The 33-year-old tight end, who played for the Eagles for nearly eight and a half seasons, aspires to play for a team that can contend for the Super Bowl.

“Obviously, you just don’t see that very often,” Goedert said of Ertz’s request. “But spent a lot of time with him. It’s interesting. We’ll see what happens with him. But hope the best for him.”

The Eagles currently are thin at tight end as Goedert recovers from a fractured forearm that kept him sidelined for the last two games. He is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. If he does not play this weekend, he has a realistic chance to suit up the following week against the Dallas Cowboys.

Tight end Grant Calcaterra also missed last week’s game with an ankle injury. He is questionable to play against the 49ers.

Ertz has played seven games for the Cardinals this season, collecting 187 yards and a touchdown on 27 receptions. He missed the team’s last five games while on injured reserve with a quadriceps injury.

The NFL seems to love having the Eagles play in prime time this season. Players like cornerback Darius Slay have expressed the opposite sentiment.

On Thursday, the league announced that it had moved the Eagles’ Dec. 17 road matchup against the Seattle Seahawks from Sunday afternoon to the following night. Now, barring any changes, the Eagles are scheduled to have six prime-time games this season. By the end of the season, they will only have played three 1 p.m. games.

“I was [upset],” Slay said of his reaction to the Monday night flex. “Because I had plans to do something on that Monday. Now I gotta change my plans. So I didn’t like it. They need to flex us back to Sunday so I can go do what I need to do. But it is what it is. That’s part of the business. But I’m mad about it. ‘Cause I’m ready to go home. I want more 1 o’clock games. Even though we’re winning a lot. I still want 1 o’clock games.”

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But while the flex inconvenienced Slay and his plans outside of football, he said he can see the positives for the players of bumping the game back a day.

“I think it’s just beneficial about that, having a game on Monday night, is that you get an extra day of rest,” Slay said. “Get the body right, because this game is tough. It takes a toll on your body. So that extra day does help, though.”