October 22, 2020
UPDATE [10:42 a.m.] — The Eagles have officially place tight end Zach Ertz on Injured Reserve after he suffered a high ankle sprain against the Ravens. That appears to be the corresponding move needed to make room for offensive lineman Matt Pryor to come off the Reserve/COVID list after his recent exposure.
Roster Moves: #Eagles have activated G/T Matt Pryor from the Reserve/COVID-19 list & placed TE Zach Ertz on Reserve/Injured.#Eagles have signed G Jamon Brown to the practice squad and elevated Brown & DT T.Y. McGill from the practice squad to the active roster for #NYGvsPHI. pic.twitter.com/GqEzHkpZxu
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 22, 2020
Ertz will be eligible to return from IR after three games, but reports make it sound like he'll be out longer than that.
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz will be out a least a month and possibly longer with the ankle injury he suffered in Sunday's loss to the Ravens, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
While doing a hit on Good Morning Football, Garafolo was discussing the Eagles situation, from the return of DeSean Jackson and Lane Johnson to the continued absence of Alshon Jeffery, who suffered a mysterious calf injury that's keeping him sidelined this week after a foot injury had kept him out the first six weeks. He then offered the following update on Ertz, who left the Eagles game against Baltimore in the fourth quarter after spraining his ankle.
"I'll give you a firm timeline on one [of these players]: Zach Ertz, who suffered a high ankle sprain the other day," Garafolo said. "I know we talked about he was going to miss multiple games. The firm timeline that I am told is about for to six weeks for the return from this high ankle sprain. So he's going to be out this game, against the Cowboys, and then they've got a bye, which is good. After the bye, you're going to start to look for the potential return of Zach Ertz.
"But remember, this is a guy who during training camp — we all know he wants his contract — during training camp and some full padded practices, he said, 'Eh, I'm not feeling great, I'm going to sit out to the side. So I would imagine as he returns from this injury, he's going to look to want to be 100% before getting back out on the field."
On Wednesday when speaking to the media, head coach Doug Pederson confirmed that Ertz, along with Malik Jackson and Miles Sanders, would be out against the Giants. But he wouldn't go so far as to say whether any of the three, Ertz included, would go on injured reserve, opting rather to wait until the team returns to the practice field following their post-TNF mini-bye.
"Not at this time," Pederson said about the prospect of IR. "Howie [Roseman] and I will make that determination as we go. We've got some time. We have the options available to us. It's something we will take a look at."
With Ertz out and Dallas Goedert already on IR after breaking his ankle a few weeks back, the Eagles' options at tight end against the Giants will be Richard Rodgers, Hakeen Butler and Jason Croom. That trio has combined for 10 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown on the season, with nine of those catches and 99 of those yards belonging to Rodgers. Their only other reception as a group was Croom's three-yard touchdown against the Ravens.
Suddenly, tight end has gone from one of the Eagles strengths to a glaring weakness.
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