June 23, 2025
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Dallas Goedert has dealt with plaque psoriasis, an autoimmune disease that causes raised, scaly patches of skin, since he was 10 years old. He says the oral medication apremilast has been the most effective treatment for him.
Dallas Goedert enters each Eagles game hoping to focus solely the task at hand — beating whatever team the Birds are playing that day. But to do so, he must manage his plaque psoriasis, a chronic skin condition he has had since children.
Plaque psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that causes thick, scaly patches of skin. The plaques can occur anywhere on the body, but they most commonly appear on the scalp, knees, elbows and torso. The condition is the most common form of psoriasis; about 80-90% of people with psoriasis have this form, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation.
"In the back of your mind, you're always worried the plaques are going to show up right before a game," said Goedert, 30, who has spent his entire seven-year career with the Eagles. "They get itchy. They can be distracting. You don't ever want that. When they are on your skin and you're sweating and in the pads and not able to keep them clean, it's ... distracting, especially before a big game. You want all your focus to be on the game and not about plaques appearing or putting topicals on, trying to get rid of it after they appear."
The root cause of plaque psoriasis is not fully understood, nor is there a cure. But it is the result of an overactive immune system that causes skin cells to grow and shed rapidly. Normal skin cells grow and fall off within a month. But for people with psoriasis, this process happens within a few days, with the skin cells piling up on the skin's surface.
Goedert said he has dealt with plaque psoriasis since he was 10 years old. As a child he often felt distressed by the appearance of his skin.
"For me, one thing, especially growing up with them as a kid, you're self-conscious about how your body looks," Goedert said. "You'd have the plaques on your skin and you'd go to the pool, and sometimes I'd have to swim with my shirt on. Sometimes, I'd wear a long-sleeve shirt in the summer, because I was embarrassed.
"You go and hang out with your friends and they're all tanning under the sun and you're covered up just because you don't want to have to deal with explaining what they are and get bullied for it. Not that that happened a ton, but that's always something as a kid that's on the back of your mind."
Flares can be triggered by several factors, including some medications, infections, stress and injured skin. Treatments include an array of topicals, phototherapy and prescription drugs.
Goedert said the oral medication apremilast, branded Otezla, has worked best to manage his psoriasis. The drug reduces the activity of an enzyme believed to play a role in the rapid skin cell growth caused by psoriasis, according to its manufacturer, Amgen.
That differs from the approach of topicals — ointments and creams designed to reduce inflammation and slow excessive skin cell reproduction. Topical steroids are the most common treatment option for psoriasis, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation, although there are non-steroidal and over-the-counter topicals available, too.
"When I was a young kid, we went to the doctor and tried many different things," Goedert said. "One thing I always remember was the topicals you'd have to put on multiple times per day. You'd have them in tough to reach spots, so I'd have to have my mom help me put on the ointment.
"Like I said, it is a disease that shows on your skin, but actually starts from within. I'd always be working after it already appeared and Amgen gave me something that treats from within and it definitely made my life a little easier that way."
For people who recently have been diagnosed with psoriasis, the Super Bowl champion has some simple advice.
"I would just tell them not to be embarrassed by it, to confront it head on," Goedert said.
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