Eagles announce Dallas Goedert to injured reserve and 5 other roster moves

Lots of news to sort through.

The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced six roster moves on Wednesday afternoon. An overview:

• TE Dallas Goedert and DT Marlon Tuipulotu were placed on injured reserve.
• DT Linval Joseph was signed to the roster.
• TE Tyree Jackson was activated from reserve/physically unable to perform (PUP) to the roster.
• DE Janarius Robinson was designated to return from injured reserve with the opening of his 21-day practice window.
• S Marquise Blair was signed to the practice squad.

Let’s sort through this news on a player-by-player basis.

DALLAS GOEDERT

Goedert got hurt during the Eagles’ loss to the Washington Commanders. The shoulder injury occurred on the play where he was facemasked (as pictured above this article) and fumbled but there was no call despite the back judge staring at him. Very cool.

It was originally reported that Goedert was set to “miss extended time.” By going on IR, he is automatically ineligible to play in the Eagles’ next four games. This means the earliest he can return is for Philly’s Week 15 game against the Chicago Bears. At least one doctor believes there’s a realistic chance Goedert will indeed be ready to play by then.

The Eagles are likely going to feel Goedert’s absence. He’s a very good player; one of the very best at his position in the entire NFL. The Birds are going to have to find a way to get by with Jack Stoll, Tyree Jackson, Grant Calcaterra, and/or Noah Togiai during his absence. The good news is those guys have shown some potential; it’s not like they’re dead-end veterans. The bad news is they’re far from proven replacement options.

MARLON TUIPULOTU

We didn’t know that Mr. T suffered an injury until after the Eagles signed Joseph. The Eagles were utilizing him as their starting nose tackle in the absence of Jordan Davis. He was not exactly a dominant force in that role.

Like Goedert, Tuipulotu will have to miss at least four games. He’ll be eligible to return as soon as Week 15.

LINVAL JOSEPH

We wrote about the Joseph signing more extensively in a separate article. The skinny is that the Eagles needed more thickness on their defensive interior, especially with Tuipulotu getting hurt.

The Eagles have four defensive tackles on their roster: Javon Hargrave, Fletcher Cox, Milton Williams, and Joseph. They also have Marvin Wilson on the practice squad but he seemingly failed his audition to earn more playing time.

TYREE JACKSON

While there’s nothing convenient about Goedert going to IR, the timing of his injury worked out well with Jackson being ready to return to the roster.

Jackson showed intriguing pass-catching potential while making the transition from quarterback to tight end during 2021 training camp. A back injury limited him to nine games played last year, however. He mostly contributed as a third tight end behind Goedert and Stoll. Jackson saw increased playing time in the Eagles’ Week 18 game against the Dallas Cowboys when the Birds rested their starters. He caught a touchdown in that game before suffering an ACL injury that caused him to begin this season on the PUP list.

In theory, Jackson could be an intriguing addition to the offense. In practice, it is hard to count on him as a sure thing.

JANARIUS ROBINSON

The Eagles placed Robinson on injured reserve ahead of their Week 6 matchup. After missing four games, he is now eligible to return to the roster. He’ll participate in practice to some extent this week now that his window has been opened.

With Josh Sweat getting banged up on Monday night, the Eagles might look to utilize a deeper defensive end rotation. Perhaps that opens a path to playing time for Robinson.

OPEN ROSTER SPOT

The Eagles still have one open roster spot after all these moves.

They had an opening after placing Avonte Maddox on IR prior to the Commanders game. Then they opened up two more spots with Goedert and Tuipulotu to IR for a total of three.

They then filled two of those spots by adding Joseph and Jackson to the roster.

It remains to be seen how they’ll fill the final opening. Perhaps Robinson will get the final spot.

MARQUISE BLAIR

A report of the Eagles signing Blair actually emerged prior to the team’s Monday night game. His addition to the practice squad gives the team more safety, nickel cornerback, and special teams depth.