When news broke that Dallas Goedert wouldn't be able to play in the Super Bowl rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, it left Philly fans bothered.
Sure, Goedert is getting older and might not be the same force he was earlier in the Sirianni era, but he was an important piece of the offense in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football and projects to have a similar impact moving forward.
And yet, in the opinion of Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, Goedert's absence won't completely destroy Philadelphia's offense, as he has faith that the team's depth will rise to the occasion against his former mentor, Andy Reid.
“Grant [Calcaterra] ‘s done a really good job of stepping in and playing when Dallas hasn't been able to play these last couple years,” Sirianni told reporters. “Really excited about Kylen [Granson] and the things he can do, and I like both of our guys that are on practice squad [and they] have had meaningful reps in games, whether Cam [Latu] was in San Francisco or EJ [Jenkins] played a lot for us last year and did really good job on special teams for us. Both developing players. So, really excited about those guys, and I think sometimes that's rare that you have those guys on the practice squad that have played and have contributed and that you can trust right at the beginning of the season. I believe that that's where that room is, and excited about that room.”
Asked if the Eagles will have to change up their plans considering none of their other tight ends are really known as blocking specialists, Sirianni said no, noting that he believes the team's two practice squad tight ends, Latu and Jenkins, will be able to contribute alongside Calcaterra.
“When we put a guy on the field or we put a guy in a game situation, we feel good. Everybody has different strengths and weaknesses, but we feel good about the rounded player of that room and those guys. EJ is interesting in the sense that he played wide receiver in college, but now he has worked so hard to be a good point of attack. That's what he's been working on for the past two years that he's been here. You feel really good about that. Same with Cam. Cam is a big, strong, physical football player that has the tools in his body to do those types of things,” Sirianni noted.
“That's what you work on, that's what you practice, that's why you go through offseason. That's why you go through training camp to develop guys, continue to develop their strengths, and then obviously, anything that you deem that they need work on.”
In 2024, Calcaterra actually started more games for the Eagles than Goedert, earning 13 total nods, including a few where both tight ends were active. While the Eagles may still look to further fortify the position if Goedert misses extended time, especially if old pal Jack Stoll ends up getting released by the New Orleans Saints, for now, Sirianni is happy with his depth and excited to return to Arrowhead for a Super Bowl rematch.
