In a somewhat surprising move, the Eagles activated the 21-day practice window for injured tight end Zach Ertz. As we have seen with other Eagles players coming back from injury, this doesn’t necessarily mean he will play on Sunday against the Browns. Isaac Seumalo, for example, was designated to return prior to the Giants game but was ultimately inactive and remained on injured reserve.
But a few weeks ago, Dallas Goedert was designated on a Wednesday and managed to play that Sunday. Every injury situation is different, but designating him to return allows Zach Ertz to practice and allows the team to see where he is from a health standpoint.
Like pretty much everyone on the Eagles roster this season, Ertz was not exactly playing well when he was healthy and on the field. Getting him back should help the offense, but it’s hard to predict anything for this team right now, especially on the offensive side of the ball. They got multiple players back prior to last week’s matchup against the Giants and looked as bad as they have all season.
We’ll know more later this week once we start seeing some of the practice reports.
Craig James
Defensive back Craig James was placed on injured reserve on Monday. James suffered a shoulder injury this past week and was out for Sunday’s game against the Giants. He hasn’t contributed much on defense this season but is a key special teams contributor.
Jordan Howard
In non-Eagles news that certainly caught the eye of many Eagles fans, the Miami Dolphins waived running back Jordan Howard on Monday. Howard had some success during his time in Philadelphia as a between-the-tacklers running back, but, like most players with the Eagles, dealt with injuries at times. It’s unlikely he gets claimed by any team because of his 2021 contract option, but he should be picked up fairly quickly once he clears waivers.
Should the Eagles be interested in Howard for the veteran’s minimum salary prorated for the rest of the season? Sure. Why not. The Eagles wanted to keep Howard this past offseason, but he wanted to start somewhere and was offered more money to sign with the Dolphins. And since the Eagles have 1. Miles Sanders and 2. No money, his departure made sense.
Of course, the Eagles are already not running the ball enough with Miles Sanders, but maybe they can pair Howard’s thunder back with Sanders’s lightning again and reimagine their offensive identity. If nothing else, running the ball would help keep their struggling defense off the field.
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Mike Maher is the editor and publisher of The Birds Blitz. Follow him on Twitter @mikeMaher and @TheBirdsBlitz and check out his archive for all of his latest stories about the Eagles and the NFL.
