The Philadelphia Eagles have lost significant pieces this offseason, all on the defensive side of the ball in Darius Slay Jr., Josh Sweat and Milton Williams along with the retirement of Brandon Graham, but with the team continuing to manage the salary cap, tight end Dallas Goedert is seemingly a potential trade candidate, according to ESPN.
“One thing we heard: It's hard to ignore all the trade buzz surrounding veteran tight end Dallas Goedert,” Tim McManus of ESPN reports. “He is in the last year of his deal and carries a cap hit of around $12 million. Perhaps a team with playoff aspirations and cap room will strike a deal for the 30-year-old playmaker this offseason.”
The Eagles drafted Goedert back in 2018 even though they had Zach Ertz on the roster already. Eventually, Ertz was traded and Goedert became the main tight end on the roster. As mentioned by McManus, Goedert's contract makes now the most logical time to trade the tight end. Philadelphia has AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley ahead of Goedert when it comes to the options on offense. It might not make sense to allocate $12 million to a tight end that will be the fourth option.
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If Goedert is traded, they would likely need to bring in some kind of tight end, whether it be in free agency or the draft. There is no logical successor at tight end, like Goedert was when the Eagles moved on from Ertz, unless the team believes in someone like Grant Calcaterra to step up and produce in a way he has not done before.
As the Eagles look to sustain themselves as a Super Bowl contender despite the losses on the defensive side of the ball, they could look to reallocate the money on Goedert's contract in some way this offseason. It will be interesting to monitor what the Eagles do with Goedert as the NFL Draft approaches at the end of April.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Ryan Bologna is an experienced sports writer covering the NFL, MLB, and NCAA Basketball for ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn, and has bylines at New York Sports Nation and the Greenwich Free Press.