Dallas Goedert, Avonte Maddox Latest Eagles Who Will Miss Time
PHILADELPHIA - It sounds like the Eagles are going to be down at least two more starters for their Week 4 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
A day after a disappointing 23-23 tie with Cincinnati, Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson explained that tight end Dallas Goedert and cornerback Avonte Maddox, ironically roommates and best friends, will be missing some time with lower-body injuries.
“In the matter of Dallas Goedert, it appears, it’s a lower body, it appears that he’s gonna miss some time, just don’t have a timetable yet, but he is gonna miss some time here with us,” said Pederson.
The same holds true for Maddox, who has been starting at outside cornerback opposite Darius Slay in the early going.
“Avonte Maddox, another one, lower body, probably also gonna maybe miss some time here with us as well," Pederson said.
Goedert, a key component in the team's 12 personnel packages with Zach Ertz at TE, was injured in the first quarter against the Bengals after a 7-yard reception.
The Eagles medical staff was working on his left ankle on the sideline before Goedert was taken to the locker room, first deemed questionable to return before he was eventually ruled out.
Goedert played only six snaps before exiting and veteran Richard Rodgers played 33 snaps, catching both Carson Wentz targets that went his way for a total of 15 yards. they were the first passes Rodgers caught in a game since 2018.
The Eagles also have two tight ends on the 16-man practice squad, Caleb Wilson and Jordan Franks.
Maddox was injured in the third quarter when tackling Tyler Boyd on a big 25-yard gain down to the Eagles' four-yard line. On the very next play, rookie QB Joe Burrow took advantage of Maddox's replacement, Trevor Williams, when finding Tee Higgins for a 4-yard TD.
The news was better on veterans Jason Peters and DeSean Jackson.
Peters, the veteran left tackle, missed the final two snaps in overtime after getting kicked in the shin. The loss really hurt, however, because Matt Pryor had to take over for Peters on the field-goal protection unit and the unfamiliarity resulted in a false start pushing back a potential 59-yard Jake Elliott game-winner into a 64-yard kick.
Pederson eschewed that opportunity and ordered the punting team on and settled on the tie, something the coach regretted Monday.
“Jason Peters will be OK," Pederson said. "He came away, it was just — when you’re playing 90-plus snaps and as humid as it was, it was just some fatigue that set in late in the game, but he’s gonna be fine.”
Jackson played 28 snaps before tapping out just before halftime with his latest injury.
“Yeah, DeSean’s gonna be a little more day-to-day," said the coach. "Again, the lower body, day-to-day, optimistic for the game this week."
Finally, Pederson confirmed that second-year wideout J.J. Arcega-Whiteside felt something wrong in pre-game warmups before Sunday's game and that's why the embattled former second-round pick was limited to 18 snaps while Greg Ward, John Hightower, and Deontay Burnett handled the heavy lifting at WR down the stretch.
“We had to limit his snaps during the game," Pederson said. "He’ll be fine, though. He’s day-to-day. We should get him, hopefully, ready to go, but he’s another one that was limited (Sunday) a little bit that way.”
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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