Philadelphia Eagles: Don’t discount Richard Rodgers’ return
Richard Rodgers is an eighth-year pro, has one of the best nicknames in the game, and, for the fourth time in his NFL career, has signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Through his first three seasons in South Philly, Rodgers appeared in 22 games, hauled in 25 catches for 352 yards and two touchdowns, and earned $2,337,352 for his efforts, or roughly $7,281.47 per offensive snap.
Now, in the grand scheme of things, re-re-re-signing a reserve tight end who has fewer combined yards than Travis Fulgham in a midnight green uniform may seem like a relative non-factor, right? Maybe he makes the roster, maybe he logs a few snaps, and maybe he even picks up a touchdown or two but ultimately, who cares? The Eagles’ tight ends corps will live or die on Dallas Goedert‘s ability to shine and whether or not Zach Ertz is still a member of the team. Whether Rodgers makes the team over highly touted UDFA Jack Stoll or ex-QB Tyree Jackson is surely small potatoes.
Woah, Woah, Woah, not so fast, my friend; Richard Rodgers – or his NSFW moniker- may not be a household name, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be an impactful member of the Philadephia Eagles moving forward, especially if he can build on his promising 2020 season.
Richard Rodgers is a safe bet to win the Philadelphia Eagles’ TE2 spot.
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In 2020, the Philadelphia Eagles’ best tight end was… Dallas Goedert.
I know, crazy, right? After spending the better part of a decade relying on the high-volume, low-YAC target known affectionately around these parts by the name of Zach Ertz, Goedert finally stepped out onto the national stage and proved himself a worthy successor to the TE1 crown.
But behind the pride of Britton, South Dakota, things weren’t quite as predictable.
You see, it was Richard Rodgers, not Zach Ertz, who finished out the 2020 regular season with the Eagles’ second-most tight end receiving yards despite receiving 41 fewer targets and 12 fewer catches than number 86. His 14.4 yards per reception ranked sixth on the team overall behind five wide receivers, and his 77.4 catch percentage lead all players with at least 10 targets on the season.
But how could that be? Sure, Ertz had himself one heck of an ugly outing in what should have been a contract year – easily the worst season of his year by any metric – but was Rodgers really better?
In a word? Yes.
In two? Heck yes.
Whether due to his lack of a preseason contract extension, some midseason trade talks, Carson Wentz‘s regression, or a high ankle sprain that sent the three-time Pro Bowler to IR, Ertz struggled like he’d never struggled before either in the NFL or back in his Stanford days and slid down the progression hierarchy as a result.
Richards, by contrast, came into work every day, played his role, and consistently found ways to pick up yards and set good blocks when his team needed him most.
Despite running two or even three tight end sets more than seemingly any other team in the NFL, 2019 marked the only season where the Eagles have had two tight ends record 500 or more yards since Ertz’s rookie year. A second tight end doesn’t have to be particularly flashy, exciting, or high-volume; they just need to be able to do their job and pick up chunk yards across the middle of the field.
Rodgers can do that job.
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Admittedly, maybe Philadelphia Eagles fans are spoiled. They went from Brent Celek to Zach Ertz to Dallas Goedert with a little bit of Trey Burton in between for good measure and consistently had a tight end finish out the regular season among their top-3 receiving yards getters as a result. While it will surely stink to see Ertz go after everything he’s done for this city – assuming he actually does leave – the Eagles don’t have to go out and procure another top-15 TE to fill his shoes. They already have a top-15 tight end in Goedert, and pairing him up with a vet like Richard Rodgers and a rookie like Jack Stoll should work out just fine.