Even before Friday’s big news — the Eagles-Cardinals trade that sent tight end Zach Ertz from Philadelphia to Arizona — Dallas Goedert had become the Eagles’ TE1 after spending much of his early career in Ertz’s shadow. Now, with Ertz out of the picture, Goedert is the undisputed top dog in the club’s tight end room, which is not a bad place to be since he is slated for unrestricted free agency at the end of the season.
Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman knows that Goedert, despite his time as a second banana, is likely to command top-dollar on the open market. “There’s going to be no discount on Dallas Goedert,” Roseman said (via Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network on Twitter). However, Roseman wants to see Goedert produce at an elite level for the rest of the season before authorizing a contract that would pay the South Dakota State product $12.5M-$15M per year.
Goedert and the Eagles have engaged in contract discussions, but it’s unclear how close the two sides ever came to an accord. We also learned that the Vikings inquired about trading for Goedert in late August/early September, and the 2-4 Eagles can probably expect more trade inquiries between now and the Nov. 2 deadline.
That said, Roseman does not expect to be selling off pieces in advance of the deadline, even if his club should lose its next two games (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Of course, the right offer could always make the ever-aggressive Roseman change his mind, though one would have to imagine that his asking price for Goedert would be quite high.
In 31 games played over the 2019-21 seasons — Goedert missed five games last year due to an ankle injury and missed Thursday night’s loss to the Bucs due to his placement on the reserve/COVID-19 list — the 26-year-old has tallied 119 catches for 1,347 yards and 10 TDs. He is also highly efficient, having caught over 70% of his career targets.
Now playing under the fourth year of his rookie contract, Goedert is earning a modest $1.24M this season. Whether it comes from the Eagles or another team, he can expect a massive raise come 2022.
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