When Dallas Goedert first hit injured reserve with a freak shoulder injury, rumors were flying about the Philadelphia Eagles possibly signing a high-profile free-agent tight end to replace him. Rob Gronkowski was the most popular choice, although it would take a good amount of coaxing to lure him out of retirement.
Jimmy Graham, Jared Cook, and Eric Ebron were three other names being tossed around. But Gronkowski is far and away the biggest fish in the ocean if he wanted to give up his new life of leisure, one spent commenting on mascot fights and participating in the SAW Games. The 33-year-old future Hall of Famer looks like he’s having too much fun. Plus, would he really turn his back on Tom Brady and join one of his fiercest rivals? Probably not.
Whatever the case, the Gronkowski to Philadelphia speculation is out there. We first wrote about it on November 15. Now Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski has jumped on the trend and mentioned Gronkowski making an impact for the Eagles in his November 25 mailbag:
If there were one guy who I think could actually make an impact if you could coax him out of retirement (assuming he has stayed in reasonable football shape), it’s Rob Gronkowski. He’s a goofball off the field, but there’s little question that he is a savvy, smart player on it. At a minimum, he’d be a good blocker, and he’d give you receiving upside on third down and in the red zone. That would be a pretty incredible luxury pickup for the stretch run, in my opinion.
Nick Sirianni Seems ‘Content’ with Tight Ends
Head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t sound like he was interested in exploring free agency for a new tight end. Goedert is eligible to return from injured reserve in Week 15 against the Chicago Bears on December 18. That’s only three weeks away. The Eagles seem content to weather the storm with Jack Stoll as the starter, backed up by Grant Calcaterra and Tyree Jackson.
“It’s not going to be easy to replace Dallas [Goedert], and not just one person does it. So, we’ll see how long he’s out. Obviously, you know he has to be out for at least four games, and we’ll play that by ear as that goes,” Sirianni told reporters. “So how do we replace him? You can’t, right? You have to do it by committee. You have tight ends that are there that we have a lot of faith in this building; it’ll start with them.”
The #Eagles are “content” with Jack Stoll as their starting TE, while Dallas Goedert is on the Injured Reserve.
– Matt Lombardo
You can tell Goedert was GREATLY missed in the offense against the Colts.
Also, forcing very abysmal producing 2 TE sets on the field.
Stoll saw 55 snaps last week against Indianapolis, with Calcaterra getting 19 snaps and 9 snaps for Jackson. Goedert’s absence has also opened the door for more targets for slot receivers Quez Watkins and Zach Pascal.
“You just have to balance it out,” Sirianni said. “You’re not the going to be able to duplicate everything he does because he has a unique skillset. You try to figure out who can do what he does, and can they do it, and then you put that stuff in your offense.”
Eagles Ready for Blackout Game: Tunnel Vision
The Eagles will officially debut their all-black uniforms on Monday Night Football, complete with those sleek-looking new black helmets. They also announced the musical soundtrack for Week 12: Tunnel Vision, written and performed by Dot Cromwell and Lester London. The song, along with poster art from Hap, is part of the Eagles Gameday Poster Playlist presented by Pepsi:
Comments
Eagles Reporter Floats Future Hall of Famer as Potential ‘Luxury Pickup’