It’s hard to miss Dallas Goedert. After all, he stands at six-foot-five and tips the scales at 256 pounds. With his hands and physical presence, it makes one wonder why the Philadelphia Eagles would ever struggle on third down or in the red zone.
A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith line up on the outside. It seems that, if Jalen Hurts were ever in a pinch and couldn’t find one of them open, all he’d need to do is look for ’88’ in the familiar jersey.
Goedert’s career in Philadelphia has pretty much been written, though. He’s supremely talented, one of the rare new-school tight ends who catch the ball and block with well-above-average proficiency. Still, there has always been talk that he hasn’t been utilized enough in the passing game. Then, there’s the discussion about injuries.
Hopefully, this will be a healthy season for Dallas Goedert, as it still may be his swan song.
They say availability is a skill. Unfortunately, when discussing Dallas Goedert, it’s equally as easy to mention his on-field talent as it is to reference the time he has been unavailable because of injury.
He suffered a knee sprain vs. the Dallas Cowboys, forcing him to miss a Wednesday practice as the Eagles begin preparing for a Sunday showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs. This doesn’t appear to be serious, but it is something to monitor. It is, however, hard to avoid thinking of the previous injuries he has sustained and the frequency with which they have occurred.
It’s also worth mentioning that he is in the final year of his current contract, as Philadelphia seemed uninterested in extending him this past offseason. He instead returned on a reworked deal.
His injury history isn’t the only reason for that, but it does play a part. Since the beginning of the 2021 season, his first full campaign as the starter, Goedert has missed 15 of a possible 51 regular-season games. No one gets stronger and more sturdy as they get older, so seeing that he is already dealing with some wear and tear isn’t the most encouraging of signs.
The writing has seemingly been on the wall for a while. This feels like Dallas Goedert’s swan song. Philly has other younger players who will need to be extended relatively soon, and the tight end position hasn’t ever been one of the spots they put a ton of stock in.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Dallas Goedert injury concerns fuel talk of a farewell season
