Dallas Goedert’s absence vs. Chiefs will test the Eagles’ offseason strategy at tight end

An entirely predictable scenario has presented itself to the Eagles after just one game. They head to Kansas City this weekend for a marquee Week 2 matchup with their Super Bowl opponent from February and will be without starting tight end Dallas Goedert, whose availability for games continues to be an issue in his eighth NFL season.

Goedert will miss Sunday’s game because of a knee injury.

The Eagles decided to restructure Goedert’s contract to bring him back for the 2025 season after knee and hamstring injuries limited him to 10 games in 2024. That was the fewest games he had played during his first seven NFL seasons and put his per-season average of games played at just 12.4 over the last five seasons.

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The Eagles kept Grant Calcaterra, who is in line for another expanded role Sunday, in the second spot on the depth chart and brought in multiple players for depth, to push for the roster, and for bodies in camp. They included Kylen Granson, who made the team; Harrison Bryant, who was traded to Houston for wide receiver John Metchie; Nick Muse, who was cut; Cameron Latu, who is on the practice squad; and EJ Jenkins, a practice squad returnee.

The Eagles seemed destined to select a tight end during the draft, considering that they have no tight ends under contract for the 2026 season, but they went through seven rounds and 10 picks without taking one.

So here they are, in a familiar spot, leaning on Calcaterra, and now Granson. The Eagles have Latu and Jenkins eligible to be elevated, and, considering offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo used Latu’s name in addition to Granson’s when talking about the future of the fullback packages following Ben VanSumeren’s injury, one might expect Latu to get the call-up for Sunday’s game.

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Goedert’s absence isn’t small. He led the Eagles with seven targets (he caught all seven) in Week 1 and has been a pretty reliable blocker. But the team has found success without him, and it has had plenty of experience playing without him, given his injury history. The Eagles are 13-2 in the 15 games they’ve played without Goedert since the start of the 2022 season.

Calcaterra, though, is not known as a strong blocker, and the Eagles likely will need him and Granson — who could see some snaps at fullback like he did last week — to be reliable in that department. The Eagles may also use an extra offensive lineman like Fred Johnson in some heavier packages if they feel they need another blocker on the field.

Calcaterra called himself a “glorified receiver” during his college years at Oklahoma and SMU. He considers his first real season playing tight end his rookie year with the Eagles in 2022.

“I feel more comfortable than I’ve ever felt with my inline blocking,” he said Friday.

“I just feel like every year when I’m out there I feel more and more comfortable. I feel like I take a huge leap every year in my comfort level on the field in terms of just recognizing defense and thinking quick and reacting and doing the right thing.”

He played in all 17 regular-season games last year and caught 24 passes on 30 targets for 298 yards and his first career touchdown.

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Calcaterra said he knows his contributions probably rarely will show up on the stat sheet. The Eagles have a lot of talent and don’t necessarily need him to be a consistent target the way they sometimes need Goedert to.

“We’ve got A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, so I’m not always the first option,” he said. “It’s all about just knowing what your job is on the play in terms of the game plan and capitalizing on those opportunities, whether that’s blocking or catching the ball or running the right route.”

The extent of Goedert’s injury is unknown. He did not practice all week. The Eagles, coach Nick Sirianni said Friday, feel good about their depth behind him, despite the reality that they lack an experienced blocker at that spot on a team that wants to run the ball effectively and needs to protect against a blitz-heavy Chiefs scheme. Could they have looked elsewhere? They may have. The New Orleans Saints signed old friend Jack Stoll to their active roster from the practice squad earlier this week, perhaps shooing aside the Eagles’ attempt to bring back a reliable blocker who knows the offense.

“When we put a guy on the field or we put a guy in a game situation, we feel good,” Sirianni said. “Everybody has different strengths and weaknesses, but we feel good about the rounded [players] of that room and those guys.”

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Goedert isn’t the only one missing Sunday’s game. The Eagles also will be without backup running back Will Shipley. The oblique injury that knocked him from the first half of the opener kept him sidelined all week. Tank Bigsby could have an immediate role after arriving via trade this week.

Rookie offensive lineman Cameron Williams, who was inactive for Week 1, was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

Backup quarterback Tanner McKee is questionable with his right thumb injury.

Kansas City’s top receiving target, Xavier Worthy, is listed as doubtful with a shoulder injury after practicing in a limited capacity Thursday and Friday. Rookie receiver Jalen Royals is out with a knee injury.