Eagles TE Dallas Goedert Shouldered Pro Bowl Load Until Last Year's Injury
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Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert appeared headed for his first Pro Bowl, maybe even a spot on the AP All-Pro second team behind splendid Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Then it all came undone early in the fourth quarter in a Week 10 game against the Washington Commanders when Goedert received a pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts and was ripped violently to the ground by his facemask by Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis.
Defensive lineman John Ridgeway piled on top of Goedert, driving his shoulder to the ground.
There were no flags thrown on the play, but Goedert didn’t get up right away. He had suffered what he described as a small fracture to the glenoid of his shoulder.
Goedert would miss the next five games, heading to injured reserve with 43 catches for 544 yards and three touchdowns in his first eight-plus games of the season.
He would eventually return for the final three weeks of the regular season, putting the finishing touches on what would be a 55-catch, 702-yard year with three touchdowns.
Had he remained healthy, who knows, Goedert may have posted his first 1,000-yard receiving season, joining receivers A.J. Brown (14.96 yards) and DeVonta Smith (1,196 yards) in that 1,000-yard club.
Goedert would have had to only average 60 yards per game over the five games he was out to reach that number.
That very well could have landed in on the second-team All-Pro team, too, ahead of San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, though awards like these are oftentimes given on reputation.
Kittle, for the record, had 60 receptions for 765 yards and 11 touchdowns in three more games played than Goedert.
“Me being the competitor I am, the person I am, I want to be the best, to make All-Pro, to be a Pro Bowler would be everything you dream of from a kid, but I don’t put that stress on me or anything,” he said during OTAs.
“I care about the success of the team more than my individual success, so whatever it takes for the team to win games, that’s what I’m going to do. If I get praise for it, that’s good. If not, let’s just keep winning games because that’s more fun than anything.”
The Eagles weren’t impacted much by Goedert’s absence, going 5-0 with him on the shelf while his shoulder healed, thanks in part to his backups, Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra, stepping up. Philly has added veteran Dan Arnold to the tight room now, too, so it’s a position that will need to sort itself out once training camp arrives.
Goedert isn’t going anywhere, except maybe the Pro Bowl if he can play all 17 games this season.
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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