Dallas Goedert has Broken Ankle
A source has told SI.com EagleMaven that Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert has a broken left ankle, with a ligament torn from the bone, and the rest of his season could be in jeopardy.
Goedert suffered the injury with about six minutes to play in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Bengals on a seven-yard reception. He was hit by Cincinnati linebackers Germaine Pratt and Josh Bynes.
Goedert, in his third season, was the team's top receiver this year with 13 catches for 138 yards and one touchdown.
On Tuesday morning, the Eagles signed tight end Jason Croom to their practice squad with the intention, per a source, of having him compete with Richard Rodgers for snaps in the team's widely-used 12-personnel packages with Zach Ertz.
The Eagles used Rodgers on Sunday after Goedert went down because he was the only other tight end active. Rodgers made his first catch in a game since 2018, a season in which he had only one catch. Still just 28, Rodgers had two receptions for 15 yards against the Bengals.
His last real productive season was in 2017 when he made 12 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown for the Green Bay Packers.
Croom, 26, was an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee for the Buffalo Bills in 2018. The 6-5, 245-pound Croom had 22 receptions for 235 yards and one touchdown that season.
The Eagles have been hit hard once again by injuries this season, with Goedert being the latest blow.
The team has been without free-agent safety Will Parks since the beginning of the season and, in-season has seen left guard Isaac Seumalo, defensive end Vinny Curry, cornerback Craig James, and receiver Jalen Reagor go down with significant injuries. During camp, the Eagles lost left tackle Andre Dillard for the year with a biceps tear and in June All-Pro right guard Brandon Brooks went down with an Achilles injury.
In addition to losing Goedert against the Bengals, the Eagles also lost cornerback Avonte Maddox, who head coach Doug Pederson said on Monday would miss some time, and right guard Brandon Brooks was lost in June to an Achilles injury.
Every team has injuries, but the Eagles have been hit harder than most over the past three seasons.
“I think this is a physical game,” said Pederson when asked why he thought his team has been one of the more injured since 2017. “I think these guys put their bodies at risk every week. I think in the case of Dallas Goedert and Avonte Maddox, the way they were tackled, the way they were landed upon, those things happen.
“And it's unfortunate. It's going to be a part of our game. And nobody said this business would be easy. No one said coaching would be easy and playing would be easy. We signed up for it and we're going to coach our players and coach the ones that are healthy and ready to go and prepare for this week.”
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