PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles made a flurry of roster moves Wednesday with the headliners being the addition of veteran nose tackle Linval Joseph and the move of Dallas Goedert to injured reserve, something that guarantees the star tight end will miss the next four games.
Joseph, 34, was once one of the better nose tackles in the NFL when with the New York Giants and Minnesota and was still very credible late into his career with the Los Angeles Chargers. He signed a one-year deal after Marlon Tuipulotu joined Jordan Davis on IR with a knee injury suffered in Monday night’s loss to Washington.
Tuipulotu has been playing more since Davis went on IR after suffering a high-ankle sprain against Pittsburgh on Oct. 30, rising to 43% of the defensive snaps over the past three games and 36% overall.
Goedert is believed to have suffered an AC Joint injury to his shoulder, after being face-masked to the ground by Washington LB Jamin Davis on a play referee Alex Kemp and his crew missed against Washington. He will not be eligible to return to the roster until Dec. 18 against the Chicago Bears.
The Eagles activated tight end Tyree Jackson from the PUP list to take Goedert’s place. Jackson had been out after suffering a torn ACL in Week 18 of teh 2021 season and will join a TE cast expected to be led by second-year player Jack Stoll and rookie sixth-round pick Grant Calcaterra. PS tight end Noah Togiai also has one more elevation Philadelphia could use for Sunday’s game at Indianapolis.
Joseph is expected to help a run defense that has allowed more than 120 yards per game to its last five opponents, including Washington which methodically controlled the clock and possession with successful, albeit unspectacular, runs.
A veteran of 13 seasons, Joseph has long been considered as one of the strongest players in the NFL at 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds but has not played this season. He last played on Jan. 9, 2021, with the Chargers when he played 40% of the snaps in a 35-32 Week 18 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Originally a second-round pick of the Giants in 2010, Joseph has 644 career tackles and 25 sacks.
With Davis out of the lineup, the Eagles run defense has fallen from top 10 in the league to No. 20.
