Eagles tight end Richard Rodgers to miss ‘multiple weeks’ with foot injury
The reserve's injury throws a new variable into the competition for a third tight end roster spot.
Eagles reserve tight end Richard Rodgers will miss “multiple weeks” with what the team said was a foot injury.
Rodgers, 27, limped to the sideline and sat down heavily during Monday’s joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens. He seemed upset and was consoled by Eagles coach Doug Pederson before riding off on a cart.
Observers feared an Achilles tear, which would have ended Rodgers’ season. It isn’t clear whether the multi-week foot injury will do that. Rodgers is fighting for the Eagles’ third roster spot at tight end, along with Josh Perkins, Alex Ellis, and Will Tye.
Perkins, 26, a former Atlanta Falcon, played in the first nine Eagles games last season, catching five passes for 67 yards, before going on injured reserve with a knee sprain. This year, Perkins seems to be having a good training camp and preseason.
Rodgers, meanwhile, suffered a knee injury during the 2018 preseason and ultimately appeared in the Eagles’ final seven games last year, catching one pass for 7 yards. He has been sidelined for much of this training camp as well. He caught eight touchdown passes for the Packers in 2015 but has three in three seasons since.
Last year, the Eagles kept Rodgers on their initial 53-man roster, then put him on injured reserve, so he was eligible to return after eight weeks. It isn’t clear they are willing to do that again. Players placed on IR in the preseason are not eligible to return that season.