The Philadelphia Eagles have announced they have elevated tight end Zach Ertz for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, giving the veteran a second straight week on the active roster as the team tries to patch an offense missing several of its usual targets.
Philadelphia enters the matchup at 2-1 after a 27-7 loss to the Chicago Bears. The defeat was the start of a difficult week.
Six players have been ruled out against the Rams, among them Dallas Goedert, DeVonta Smith, Zack Baun, and Marcus Epps. Hollywood Brown is also unavailable.
With Goedert sidelined for a second consecutive week, the tight end room has become one of the more immediate problems Nick Sirianni’s staff has to solve.
The club announced the move on social media Saturday afternoon, saying it had elevated Ertz and fellow tight end Josiah Deguara for the game. Ertz signed with Philadelphia last week and has been on the practice squad.
He was elevated against Chicago as well and caught one pass for nine yards in that loss. A larger share of the offense now looks likely. Smith and Brown will not be available outside, and Goedert’s absence removes the team’s primary tight end, leaving Jalen Hurts without three of the receivers he has leaned on most.
Ertz is not a short-term experiment in name only. Across 182 career games he has 826 receptions for 8,601 yards and 57 touchdowns.
He is 10 catches from Harold Carmichael’s franchise record for receptions with the Eagles, a mark that still belongs to the Hall of Famer who spent his career in Philadelphia.
Returning to the city where he became one of the league’s most productive tight ends puts that record within reach if the snaps and targets follow.
How those snaps are divided is still open. Johnny Mundt figures to handle much of the blocking work in both the run and pass game, whether he is listed as the first or second tight end.
E.J. Jenkins is expected to be the third option, with Deguara the fourth. Because so many players are already out, Philadelphia could keep all four active and fill the inactive list with the names already ruled out.
Even so, the Eagles may tilt toward the ground game. Saquon Barkley got the offense moving early against the Bears before the second half slipped away.
Ertz’s value will show up in whether the passing game can still function without its usual trio of targets.
One catch will not be enough if Hurts is going to find answers against a Rams defense that does not need any extra help.
