The Eagles are rolling into their Week 4 clash against the Los Angeles Rams with a serious shift in personnel, officially bringing up tight ends Zach Ertz and Josiah Deguara from the practice squad. This move means the Birds are going to have *four* active tight ends out there against the Rams, a decision that’s got everyone buzzing about what kind of offensive scheme the team is gonna try to run.
Ertz Is Back for Round Two, But What’s Next?
Zach Ertz getting the call-up isn’t a shocker, given he was already elevated last week against the Chicago Bears. He played 19 snaps in that game, which was second-most among the tight ends, just seven fewer than Johnny Mundt and six more than E.J. Jenkins. We saw him snag one target for a nine-yard reception, which isn’t exactly lighting it up, but hey, it’s a start. This is his second elevation, meaning he’s got just one more left for the regular season. After that, the Eagles are gonna have to ink him to the active roster if they want him to keep playing, especially with Dallas Goedert still sidelined. The big question is, will they ramp up his workload this week, or keep it similar?
Whoa, Four TEs?! Deguara’s Unexpected Jump
Now, the real head-scratcher here is Josiah Deguara getting elevated right alongside Ertz. That’s the part nobody really saw coming. This means the Eagles are going to have a whopping four tight ends active for the game! With DeVonta Smith ruled out, it looks like the Birds might be thinking about leaning hard into some serious 12 and 13 personnel packages. Deguara, who’s 29, only joined the Eagles’ practice squad mid-September. He was a third-round pick back in 2020 for the Green Bay Packers, where he actually overlapped with the Eagles’ current tight ends coach and run game coordinator, Ryan Mahaffey, from 2021-2023. He’s got 12 starts in 77 regular season games, tallying 66 targets for 53 receptions, 471 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in his career. His last NFL stop before this was just a three-day stint with the New York Giants in late August, so this is a big moment for him.
No IR for Smith? A Risky Play?
It’s also worth noting what *didn’t* happen. Despite DeVonta Smith and five other players being ruled out for the game, none of them were placed on injured reserve. That’s a sign the team isn’t worried about them missing at least four weeks, which is… interesting. Especially for Smith’s hamstring injury. You gotta wonder if they’re slow-playing that timeline a bit too much. On the defensive side, it’s a head-scratcher why they didn’t elevate Cole Wisniewski for some safety depth. With Marcus Epps out, Andrew Mukuba is their *only* full-time safety on the roster. Michael Carter II, who’s been learning safety after playing nickel corner, is likely gonna step into Epps’ spot in the nickel defense, with Cooper DeJean playing next to Mukuba in base packages. They did sign Kenny Moore, but the safety situation still looks thin.
So, the Eagles are definitely shaking things up against the Rams. With four tight ends active and some key injuries to navigate, it’s gonna be fascinating to see how they scheme things up. Will the extra TEs give them the edge they need, or will the depleted secondary come back to bite them? This Week 4 matchup is going to tell us a lot about what kind of team the Eagles are this season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleeding Green Nation.
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