Philadelphia Eagles: Just give Dallas Goedert a darn extension

Normally, when a formerly prized Day 2 draft pick is about to enter the final year of their rookie contract, an extension gets worked out before the season begins.

Need proof? Look no further than Mark Andrews, the Baltimore Ravens’ 2018 third-round pick who just agreed to a four-year, $56 million extension after three very promising seasons paired up with Lamar Jackson.

But what about Andrews’ counterpart a few miles northeast in the City of Brotherly Love? Surely Dallas Goedert, too, would be nearing an extension with the Philadelphia Eagles, right?

Well, according to our pal Mike Kaye over at NJ.com, Howie Roseman and company may be taking things in a “different direction,” much to the chagrin of fans in South Philly.

The Philadelphia Eagles would be crazy to allow Dallas Goedert to walk in free agency.

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Earlier this offseason, FanSided’s own Matt Lombardo reported that the Minnesota Vikings made contact with the Philadelphia Eagles about a potential trade for Dallas Goedert.

Now, Minnesota’s interest in Goedert shouldn’t have even been too surprising. The team had just lost Irving Smith Jr. to a season-ending injury, and Kirk Cousins can’t exclusively target Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen exclusively over a full NFL season.

Heck, I even hypothesized about a potential Zach Ertz-to-Minnesota scenario here and ultimately determined it to be a bad move considering the meager spoils such a deal would return.

Ultimately, Howie Roseman made the right call in turning his Minnesota counterpart – Rick Spielman, if you don’t know – down. Goedert has been a steady target for Jalen Hurts this summer and even participated in some impromptu offseason activities alongside the team’s other receivers plus Nelson Agholor.

Why, I ask both rhetorically and with grave severity, would Roseman not want to keep that train a-rolling all night long?

I mean sure, Goedert has never had a full season where he is “the guy.” In 2018-19, he served as the 1b behind Ertz, and in 2020, he didn’t really become the team’s top tight end option until midway through the regular season, but is that on him? Goedert has shown an ability to be a vertical threat, a possession specialist, and even a viable blocker both in-line and out in space.

Could Goedert collapse spectacularly in this, the final year of his rookie contract? Sure, anything is possible, but isn’t there always risk involved when signing a player to a long-term extension? I mean look at how Carson Wentz‘s extension aged after being viewed as a good value deal heading into 2020.

Now granted, just because talks have cooled between Goedert’s camp and the Eagles doesn’t mean things are done, and he’s a prime candidate for a midseason trade. Roseman could reengage conversations tomorrow and have a Mark Andrews-esque extension on the books by the home opener, but the longer things linger, the more folks will wonder what is going on.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather keep my top returning receiver happy over risking any sort of relationship disharmony over a few more games sample size just to be super-duper sure about the decision.

Goedert may not be a $14 million AAV tight end, but he’s certainly worth $8-plus million, or a deal similar to the one Ertz is currently on.

Next. Jaylen Samuels is the offensive Andre Chachere. dark

In the grand scheme of things, if Dallas Goedert is under contract with the Philadelphia Eagles come March, it really won’t matter when he signed his contract. He could play out his NFL days in the City of Brotherly Love and fans the world over could continue to rock 88 jerseys well into the 2020s, but as the days pass by and the summer turns into the fall, any sort of potential bad vibes at the NovaCare Center should be avoided at all costs, especially if Goedert is in the team’s plans long-term.

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