Philadelphia Eagles: Zach Ertz’ return better not stunt Dallas Goedert’s growth

Dallas Goedert is finally breaking out, and the Philadelphia Eagles can’t let Zach Ertz’ return ruin that.

After missing the last five games due to injury, 3x Pro Bowler Zach Ertz was officially activated off the injured reserve this week. He’s back practicing with the team, and all signs point to him playing this weekend against the Green Bay Packers. While getting Ertz back is obviously a *plus*, the Philadelphia Eagles need to tread cautiously when it comes to integrating him back into the playbook.

For what it’s worth, Ertz plays a crucial role in the Eagles offensive scheme, and he’s been the team’s best overall pass-catcher since 2016. He’s Carson Wentz‘ favorite target, and the tight end’s on-field production speaks for itself. Between 2017 and 2019, he was without question a top three TE in all of football.

However, things started to spiral a bit this past offseason with Ertz. Despite having two years left on his current contract, the 30 year old TE reportedly wanted another contract extension, one that would rival the likes of what George Kittle and Travis Kelce just got with their respective teams. Due to a looming cap nightmare (and likely the emergence of one Dallas Goedert), Howie Roseman wasn’t open to the idea of extending Ertz prior to the 2020 season beginning. Ertz rolled into training camp without an improved salary, and the distraction of it all was noticeable on Sundays.

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Ertz started off the year extremely poor, logging just 24 catches and 178 receiving yards on 45 total targets. He was struggling to get open, and a lot of his routes gave off the appearance that he wasn’t particularly *trying*. It was clear that his failed contract negotiations were bothering him, and his lack of effort early on was a major reason the Eagles offense wasn’t clicking.

Ertz went down with an injury during Week 6 against Baltimore, and the Eagles offense understandably got even worse. It didn’t help that Goedert was hurt for a bit as well, and Wentz was relegated to using Richard Rodgers as his TE1. Philly went 2-3 during Ertz’ absence, but lost a must-win game against a below average Giants team. No matter how you cut it, the offense didn’t magically “improve” with Ertz no longer on the field.

With all that understood, Goedert has definitely started to blossom into that crucial TE1 role as of late. Specifically over the last two weeks, Goedert has really thrived, recording 12 catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Philly obviously didn’t win these games, but Goedert’s dominance over the middle of the field was one of the few bright spots on offense.

Getting Ertz back is huge, and it could definitely spark some better performances from Wentz. However, the Philadelphia Eagles shouldn’t jump to turn TE 1 duties back over to Ertz right away. The veteran pass-catcher is likely going to be traded this offseason, and Goedert projects to be the team’s primary TE of the future. Continuing to ride Goedert’s recent success will only go to further his personal development, and considering the fact that the Eagles are 3-7-1, developing young players is the only thing that should be on their minds right now.