Stuck in the Middle, Dallas Goedert Has Career Game

If you're wondering why Howie Roseman believes he can play hardball with Zach Ertz, you got a glimpse of it Sunday afternoon with Dallas Goedert

If you're wondering why Howie Roseman believes he can play hardball with Zach Ertz, you got a glimpse of it Sunday afternoon when Dallas Goedert was the Eagles' best player during a disappointing 27-17 setback to the Washington Football Team.

At 25, Goedert is younger and a better blocker than Ertz, the veteran Pro Bowl star who is typically Carson Wentz's top target.

That designation went to Goedert on Sunday, who caught eight of his nine opportunities for 101 yards, his first 100-yard game as a pro, along with a 34-yard touchdown.

The scoring toss was the pay of the day from Philadelphia's perspective, featuring great ball placement from Wentz and a nice adjustment from Goedert on the back end of what was an over-the-shoulder catch.

Ertz, meanwhile, caught Wentz's only other TD of the afternoon, but also had an uncharacteristic drop on a crucial fourth-down play late in the game.

That rarity was coming off a pre-game report that Ertz had an animated conversation about his contract with Roseman after a practice last week which also included owner Jeffrey Lurie and coach Doug Pederson, a scenario which the team acknowledged but spun as a professional and constructive give-and-take.

All of it had people talking.

The meeting stemmed from Ertz's heart-on-his-sleeve admittance on a Zoom call.

“Obviously, it’s been frustrating at times, it’s been difficult,” said Ertz last week, days prior to the opener. “I’ve said all along, I want to be here for the long run. I don’t know, for sure, if that feeling is mutual."

While the situation seems like it could be an uncomfortable one for Goedert, he and Ertz have no animosities toward each other.

“I think me and Zach have a good relationship," said Goedert after the game. "I’m not going to blame him for taking my catches, I don’t think he’s going to blame me for taking his catches. We help each other out a lot on the field and I think our relationship is great."

In the players' world, the unwritten rule is to never comment on another's contract and Goedert followed it.

"You know, that’s between him and the front office and I don’t think it should be involved between us two,” he said.

Significant salary-cap issues are looming for the Eagles in 2021 and that reality has met head-on with the explosion of the tight end market, an imperfect storm when it comes to Ertz remaining in Philadelphia.

Ertz still has two years remaining on a five-year extension signed in 2016 that was worth $42.5 million. He’s currently set to count almost $12.5M million against the salary cap in each of the next two seasons.

The biggest complication for the Eagles is the 2021 cap which is expected to dip dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic hammering league finances this season. That, coupled with the knowledge that Philadelphia has Goedert, who is also going to be in line for a big-money extension, established the ingredients for a tough decision.

By the time their current contracts are up after the 2021 season, Ertz will be 31 and Goedert will be 27.

“I don’t really want to get into contract deals, obviously I have no part of that,” Goedert said. “But he feels passionate that he deserves to get paid and he’s been here for eight years and he’s played really good football all eight years."

The irony is the better Goedert plays, the less likely it is that Ertz remains in Philadelphia past the 2021 season, maybe even this season should the team decide to trade him before his contract runs out and they lose him in free agency.

Either way, it's just business, but it's bot Goedert's business.

"I don’t think he was throwing any shots at the organization or anything. I think it was just a little bit of his emotions," Goedert said of Ertz. "Obviously, he wants a new contract. And that’s all I got to say about that.”

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM and every Monday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SportsMap Radio. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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