Zach Ertz‘s stint on the Reserve/COVID-19 list won’t knock him out of Monday’s game. The Eagles activated their veteran tight end today, the team announced. The team had an open roster spot, so no corresponding move was necessary.
Ertz landed on the COVID list earlier this week, but there was hope that he’d be able to play Monday night against the Cowboys (pending the results of his vaccination status/test results).
The team somewhat prepared for a potential Ertz absence when they added tight end Richard Rodgers to their practice squad earlier this week. Earlier this week, head coach Nick Sirianni acknowledged that the offense has to remain flexible based on Ertz’s status.
“You have to have double-plans out there. And so, without getting too much into that, it’s just everything has to be double-planned,” Sirianni said (via Chris McPherson of the team’s website). “You have to back it up of what you want to have in. Do you want to be in 12-personnel, do you want to be in 11-personnel? And so you just have to back up everything. This is just something that we’ve had to do and the nature of the business in the NFL.”
Now, the team can move forward with their standard depth chart of Dallas Goedert, Ertz, and Jack Stoll.
The 30-year-old has officially been relegated to a secondary role behind Goedert this season. Through two games, he has just three catches for 40 yards. This comes after a down year of 36/335/1 in eleven games, coupled with an offseason standoff with the organization. The veteran has just one year to go on his five-year, $42.5MM deal, putting him in line for free agency this spring.
Wow the Eagles really suck on every level tonight. Looks like they’ll be trading for or drafting a QB next year.