The NFL’s eye in the sky sees everything — and this week it meant they saw Philadelphia Eagles tight end Grant Calcaterra and safety Sydney Brown breaking the rules.
The NFL Game Day Accountability team handed out monetary fines to both players on Saturday, January 3, for their actions in a Week 17 road win over the Buffalo Bills. Calcaterra was fined $6,353 for taunting and Brown was fined $8,342 for unnecessary roughness or striking/kicking/kneeing/tripping an opponent.
The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, 11-5 overall, have won 3 consecutive games headed into their regular season finale against the Washington Commanders in Week 18.
It’s the first NFL fine in 4 seasons for Calcaterra. It’s the fourth fine in 3 seasons for Brown and the first time he’s received a fine that didn’t come against an NFC East Division opponent.
The Eagles are expected to sit most of their starters in the season finale, which they also did last year before their remarkable playoff run.
Brown Forced to Step Up After Mukuba Injury
Brown has played in all 16 games for the Eagles with 2 starts and has been pressed into more service following a devastating, season-ending injury to star rookie safety Andrew Mukuba, who fractured his ankle in a 24-21, Week 12 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Mukuba, a 2025 second round pick (No. 64 overall), had started 10 of 11 games with 46 tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 pass deflections and 3 TFL.
Brown has 27 tackles with zero interceptions and zero pass deflections.
Calcaterra Takes Backseat to Goedert’s Record Year
Calcaterra, 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, has found his role greatly reduced in 2025 following a breakout year in 2024 on the way to winning the Super Bowl.
In 2024, he proved to be a serviceable fill-in for starter Dallas Goedert, grabbing 24 receptions for 298 yards and 1 touchdown as Goedert missed a career-high 7 games due to injuries.
Goedert, after an offseason which included rampant trade rumors, a pay cut and a restructured contract, has delivered a career year, breaking a 60-year-old franchise record for touchdown reception by a tight end with 60 receptions for 591 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He broke the record set by fellow South Dakota State product Pete Retzlaff in 1965 with the Eagles’ only touchdown in the 13-12 win over the Bills.
Even with that, there’s a good chance both Calcaterra and Goedert could be playing their last games for the Eagles. Goedert is likely to draw big money in free agency — possibly from another contender — and Calcaterra will be an attractive option for many teams looking for reliable depth at tight end.
Eagles Likely Solution: Draft Tight End Early
The more likely option for the Eagles would be to draft a tight end — possibly in the early rounds.
Bleacher Report has tight end listed as the No. 1 priority for the Eagles in the 2026 NFL draft, with the ideal pick being University of Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
From Bleacher Report on September 6: “It seems like Dallas Goedert’s time in Philadelphia will be coming to an end soon. Goedert turned 30 in January and will be a free agent in the offseason, putting this year’s crop of tight ends on Howie Roseman’s radar … Meanwhile, Sadiq is in line for a big season now that he’s not competing for snaps with Rams‘ second-round pick Terrance Ferguson.”
NFL Makes Final Decision on Punishment for Eagles Duo