The Philadelphia Eagles snapped their three-game losing skid on Sunday, as they walked away with a dominant 31-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. It was the perfect get-right spot for Philly, who played well on both sides of the ball.
There were several positives that the Eagles can take from this blowout win over a struggling Raiders team and apply to their final three regular-season games. However, for all the good that came out of their Week 15 victory, Eagles fans were not happy once again with the performance of backup tight end Grant Calcaterra.
Calcaterra has become a constant talking point over the last few weeks because of his subpar blocking in the Eagles’ running game. In fact, most fans would rather see Cameron Latu on the field more than Calcaterra, as Philadelphia has had somewhat more success on the ground with him leading the way ahead of Barkley.
Grant Calcaterra Continues to Build His Case on Why Eagles Shouldn’t Re-Sign Him
In Sunday’s win over the Raiders, Calcaterra played 37 snaps, including 27 in run blocking. The backup tight end had a good overall grade (74.3) and a surprisingly respectable run blocking grade (64.6), per Pro Football Focus.
However, that grade doesn’t add up to what fans and reporters saw on the field from Calcaterra in Week 15. Jimmy Kempski of The Philly Voice highlighted that when the backup tight end was on the field, it actually invited more guys into the box, making life tougher for Saquon Barkley.
Kempski also made the point that it's been like this all season, and the Eagles are still doing the same thing.
And to be honest, that doesn’t come as a surprise. Reporters questioned Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni about Calcaterra’s usage and performance earlier this month, and Sirianni doubled down on his support for Calcaterra. This was maddening because Calcaterra doesn’t offer much as a run blocker and has been sparingly used as a receiver.
Meanwhile, Latu played 19 total snaps (17 in run blocking) and shockingly didn’t receive the best grade from PFF (54.7) in Week 15. However, from what we saw on Sunday and in Week 14 vs. the Chargers, the Eagles' running game looks improved with Latu blocking when they go under center.
Nevertheless, the Eagles likely won’t make a major change at this point by lessening Calcaterra’s snaps for Latu. However, whenever the offseason begins for Philly, they cannot bring him back.
They can easily find Calcaterra's replacement in the draft, free agency, or move Latu into the TE2 spot for 2026. There's also Kylen Granson, but he's scheduled to become a free agent this offseason.
Before the Eagles moved him to the fullback spot, Latu was a tight end in college and was a former third-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.
Latu really hasn’t had a chance to showcase his TE skills in the NFL, but at 6-foot-5 and 244 pounds, it's worth seeing if he could be the TE2 in 2026. If it doesn’t work, you have yourself a fullback and a core special teamer, which is just as important.
Meanwhile, for Calcaterra, he’s already exceeded expectations by sticking on an NFL roster for four years as a sixth-round pick. However, he clearly has some limitations in his game, which the Eagles should try to address one way or another in 2026.