The Philadelphia Eagles made a few roster moves Tuesday all related to each other.
According to the NFL transaction wire, the Eagles officially placed injured left guard Landon Dickerson on injured reserve. In corresponding moves, the Eagles also added punt returner Britain Covey to the active roster and tight end Josiah Deguara to the practice squad.
Multiple NFL insiders reported Monday night Dickerson was heading to IR. The veteran guard tried to play through a knee issue in the season opener but performed poorly Dickerson offered one of the more harsh critiques of his own play.
In Covey, the Eagles have signed a receiver who played for the team as a practice squad elevation in Week 1. Covey returned 83 punts over the years for Philadelphia.
In Deguara, the Eagles have added a former rival tight end to the practice squad. He’s also very experienced, having played 77 NFL games over seven seasons.
Eagles Add Britain Covey to Active Roster, Sign TE Josiah Deguara
Covey isn’t a new addition. He’s appeared in 45 games for the Eagles over the past the past five seasons. During that time, he’s contributed mostly as a returner.
On 83 punt returns, he’s averaged 11.2 yards per return. Covey has also averaged 22.6 yards per kickoff return.
During the 2023 campaign, Covey led the NFL with 417 punt return yards.
He had four punt returns in Week 1 versus the Washington Commanders. He registered 37 yards, averaging 9.3 per return.
With Covey added to the roster, the Eagles no longer have to worry about using their practice squad elevations on Covey. Each player is limited to three per season per practice squad stint. Philadelphia utilized one on Covey for the season opener.
Unlike Covey, Deguara is completely new to the Eagles. But he’s appeared in the regular season for the Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona Cardinals.
In 2021, he set career highs with 25 catches, 245 receiving yards and two touchdowns with Green Bay.
Deguara is the only tight end on the Eagles practice squad. Dallas Goedert, E.J. Jenkins and Johnny Mundt are the tight ends on the team’s active roster.
Tight ends Grant Calcaterra and Eli Stowers are on injured reserve.
Landon Dickerson Officially Lands on IR
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane was the first to report Dickerson was going to injured reserve.
“Dickerson has been playing with various ailments and clearly struggled in the opener vs. the Commanders,” McLane wrote on X Monday night. “Looks like it will be Drew Kendall’s or Willie Lampkin’s turn at guard. Also depends on if there is a change at center and how the Eagles best see the O-line configuration, sources said.”
The veteran guard was highly critical of his play from the season opener.
“Yeah, so honestly, and you know, address the elephant in the room. I played like s–t yesterday,” Dickerson said during an appearance on 94 WIP. “Yeah, I was a complete liability yesterday. And again, that was my fault. I know I said earlier in camp, I shouldn’t be out there till I feel healthy.
“A few weeks ago, got rolled up on in practice. You know, I thought, you know, as weeks went by, it would get better. And it didn’t. And we kind of went out there and finally got some imaging on it today, figured out what was wrong with it.”
With the signings of Covey and Deguara, the Eagles are clearly confident in their offensive line depth. Unless the team makes another move, as McLane mentioned, Drew Kendall or Willie Lampkin will replace Dickerson in the starting lineup.
Eagles Add Ex-Giants TE After Making Official Move With Landon Dickerson