Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 11/20/21.

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Breaking Down Dallas Goedert’s $57 Million Contract Extension - Over The Cap
All in all it works out to $57 million in new money with $35.13 million in guarantees of which $14.877 million is fully guaranteed at signing and $29.12 million is virtually guaranteed at signing. In my opinion this is a pretty solid contract for Philadelphia. Despite ranking 3rd in annual value, the one year cash flows will rank 5th, trailing market leader Mark Andrews by $12.25 million. His two year cash flow will rank 3rd trailing both George Kittle and Andrews by around $5.5 million. He will pull within $2.25 million of Andrews after three years and finally jump his contract in the final year of the contract. This was a good way of hitting a target annual value while keeping the cash flows in a class down from that target APY. I would imagine the tradeoff for the Eagles was giving that guarantee on the 2024 salary but because the cash flows are team friendly up front I doubt that was a big concern for them nor was the player favorable vesting schedule since the overall guarantees will trail some other deals both in total and on a percentage basis. Because the Eagles did not have to go higher in the 2024 guarantee they should have plenty of wiggle room to bring the contract down in the event things do go south that year.

Eagles ready to see Dallas Goedert flourish as one of the NFL’s top tight ends - PE.com
“Today is a really special day. It’s a day you dream about when you get into the league,” Goedert said at his Friday press conference at the NovaCare Complex. “I’m really thankful for the organization – Mr. (Jeffrey) Lurie, Jake (Rosenberg), everybody who believed in me, Howie (Roseman). For them to give a kid from South Dakota a contract, obviously it means a lot and I’m just really excited to stay in Philadelphia longer and hopefully go out and win a lot of games here. I believe really highly in myself. I believe I’m one of the best tight ends in the league and I’m always going to have that mindset, but to be paid up there, I feel like the respect that the team showed me it’s just really cool that they see the hard work that I’ve put in day in and day out, to believe that I deserve, earned it, and all that. It’s a really cool feeling that they see what I can do.”

Philadelphia Eagles sign TE Dallas Goedert to a four-year contract extension through 2025 - PFF
He took on a bigger role in Philadelphia’s offense and emerged as the team’s clear-cut No. 1 tight end after the Eagles traded Zach Ertz to the Arizona Cardinals last month. Goedert is experiencing elite utilization since Ertz’s departure, running a route on over 80% of the Eagles’ passing plays. The Eagles have pivoted to the run game, but he remains a mid-range TE1 as a funnel option in Philadelphia’s offense. He accounted for 40% and 38% of the team’s targets in Weeks 8 and 9, respectively, before suffering a concussion in Week 10.

Eagles vs. Saints Final Injury Report: New Orleans rules out several key starters - BGN
The Saints have multiple key players on IR/PUP including starting quarterback Jameis Winston, target monster Michael Thomas, starting left guard Andrus Peat, nickel defender Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and kicker Will Lutz. The Saints are also missing several key starters from their 53-man roster. All-Pro running back and pass-catching weapon Alvin Kamara is OUT. Big deal. So is the fact that the Saints will be without BOTH starting offensive tackles in Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk. Not to mention they’ll also be without their sack leader, Tanoh Kpassagnon. Saints backup quarterback/gadget guy Taysom Hill is questionable to play after being limited on Friday. The Eagles really need to take advantage of this injured Saints team.

Above the Nest with Raichele #34: Eagles-Saints Preview with Symone Stanley, Dallas Goedert is staying in Philly, Injury Report - BGN Radio
Raichele Privette is joined by Symone Stanley to preview the Eagles-Saints Week 11 matchup, she also breaks down Dallas Goedert’s contract extension and runs through both teams injury reports.

Eagles podcast: Playoffs? - PhillyVoice
In the latest episode of BGN Radio, Brandon Gowton and I discussed the Philadelphia Eagles’ impressive road win against the Denver Broncos, and whether or not thy are now candidates for the... (in Jim Mora voice)... playoffs?!?

One move that could solve two problems on offense in Roob’s observations - NBCSP
1. Two issues the Eagles have that could be solved with one move: First of all, there’s Jalen Reagor’s ineffectiveness. Last year’s first-round pick is having a miserable season and over the last five weeks has just five catches for 43 yards. Then there’s Kenny Gainwell, who has shown he’s a productive young back and a smooth and sure-handed receiver but will likely be the odd man out now that Miles Sanders is back. So how about Gainwell in the slot with Quez Watkins and DeVonta Smith outside? That would give Jalen Hurts three reliable weapons at WR where he has only two right now and give the passing game an added dimension. Think of it this way: Gainwell has 173 receiving yards on 205 snaps (0.84 yards per snap) and Reagor has 171 yards on 431 snaps (.40 yards per snap). Gainwell, a rookie fifth-round running back, is netting more than twice as many yards per snap as Reagor. No doubt the offense would operate better with Smith, Watkins and Gainwell than with Smith, Reagor and Watkins. Not a good look to bench last year’s first-round pick, but you have to play the guys who can help you win, and right now Reagor isn’t one of them. [...] 7. Hank Baskett had two catches of at least 87 yards as an undrafted Eagles rookie WR in 2006. Jalen Reagor hasn’t had more than 55 yards in a game in his career.

Don’t Sleep on the Cowboys Defense - Football Outsiders
New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, 1 p.m. The Saints are running the “Term Paper Procrastination Offense” under Trevor Siemian: three quarters of goofing off and wasting time, followed by 15 minutes of manic, energetic chaos. It works just well enough to throw a late scare into opponents, and it’s all they really have: Trevor Siemian is a scout team quarterback throwing to scout team playmakers. Alvin Kamara’s possible return may help, but the Saints offense has problems that negative rushing DYAR and 38.8 receiving yards per game won’t solve. The Eagles wore their balanced offense with their aggressive defense last week, and it was a perfect match after weeks of clashing screen-heavy-offense/no-defense-whatsoever and ball-control-offense/bend-but-don’t-break-defense combinations. Jalen Hurts led the Eagles to victory against the Taysom Hill Experience in his very first start in 2020. Based on the way both teams have played over the last two weeks, there’s no reason to think that he can’t do something similar this week. Eagles 22, Saints 17.

Eagles-Saints Week 11 cheat sheet: News, matchups, players to watch and more - The Athletic
Wulf: I believe the Eagles are legitimately a better team now than they were a month ago. Changing their game plan to rely more on the offensive line has made a real difference, and Hurts seems to have taken a step forward. But I think the Saints defense is for real, I think Siemian is capable, and I worry about a letdown game for the Eagles after last week. Saints 22, Eagles 19.

Fantasy Football Volatility Index: The riskiest and safest plays for NFL Week 11 - Fake Teams
Jordan Howard: With only three games played you might find this play a little bit weird when it comes to ultra-risk averse players. That number of games played is definitely not very large. Even worse, the playing time and usage (Howard has topped at a below-average 40% snap share) J-How is seen in Philly isn’t going to blow your mind either. But given that context of play and the situation Howard finds himself in these days, he can’t be doing more than he’s already achieving. Three consecutive games hitting 57+ rushing yards on 12+ carries adorn his short 2021 resume. Howard has scored at least one rushing touchdown in two of those three games, and although he’s a net-zero on the passing game (no targets at all in 63 offensive snaps) he more than makes up for that with his ground game. The FP have gone down from 17.7 to 13.1 and lastly 8.3, but there is no reason to doubt Howard when it comes to racking up rushing yardage and even crossing the goal line in possession of the rock almost every week. If he doesn’t find paydirt then the fantasy tally will go down a bit, obviously, but the 14-ish carries, the 70-ish yards, and the TD-per-game averages speak highly of this man rushing prowess.

Saints at Eagles: Key Matchups in Week 11 - Canal Street Chronicles
Eagles rookie DeVonta Smith has had a good year so far. Through 10 games, Smith is averaging over 14 yards a reception. His body has held up so far but this week he has to go against one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Marshon Lattimore has been shutting opposing receivers down all year. Lattimore is a very physical corner so Smith will have to get creative to get away from Lattimore. Lattimore is playing the most snaps of his entire career so far in 2021. Through the eight games he has played, Lattimore has only allowed 32 catches. He has 10 pass breakups so far this year as well, already nearing his career-high. DeVonta Smith will need to bring his A+ game to this week’s game against one of the league’s best.

Saints sign Brett Maher to active roster, cut Brian Johnson - PFT
Rookie kicker Brian Johnson missed three extra points in the Saints’ past two games, costing the team in a 23-21 loss to the Titans on Sunday. Not surprisingly, he no longer has a job with the Saints. New Orleans waived Johnson and re-signed Brett Maher to the active roster Friday.

GamePlan: How Cam Newton’s Return Was Emblematic of the Panthers’ Culture - SI
And the second thing I’m keeping an eye on? Whether more obvious candidates emerge over the next couple of months. Last year, guys like Arthur Smith and Robert Saleh were drawing interest for just about every team that had an opening. Who’s that guy this year? Daboll and Eric Bieniemy will be in the mix again, but there really aren’t the hot names new to the scene like there usually would be. That make you wonder if second-chancers like Quinn, Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, Cardinals DC Vance Joseph, Buccaneers DC Todd Bowles or ex-Eagles coach Doug Pederson get a lot of run come January. So all this should be interesting to follow, as always, over the months to come.

Fan confidence poll: Surprising number of Giants’ fans express confidence - Big Blue View
Halfway through the 2021 NFL season, 43 percent of voters in our ‘SB Nation Reacts’ fan confidence poll believe the New York Giants are heading in the right direction. The 3-6 Giants face the 6-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the defending Super Bowl champions, on Monday night. The Giants started the season 0-3 and suffered closes losses to the Washington Football Team, Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs during the season’s first half. After that 0-3 start, the Giants have gone 3-3.

Fan confidence buoyed by Sunday’s win over the Buccaneers - Hogs Haven
Washington’s exciting win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday has provided a strong boost to fan confidence, which had fallen as low as 16% a few weeks ago. With the team at 3-6 but still in a position to compete for an NFC wildcard spot in the postseason, fan confidence has jumped to 49%, with the fan base split almost equally between those who believe in the direction of the franchise and those who don’t.

BREAKING: Cowboys WR Amari Cooper to Reserve/COVID-19 list and will miss Chiefs game, maybe more - Blogging The Boys
As this is the weekend before Thanksgiving, the Cowboys will obviously be playing a couple of games in a week’s time. Incidentally Dallas is hosting the Las Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving, Amari Cooper’s former team. The game was set to mark Cooper’s 52nd game with the Cowboys which would have been poetic given that he played 52 career games with the Raiders before they traded him away in 2018. Obviously this dramatically changes what Sunday afternoon looks like for Dallas. They are fortunate in that they were able to activate Michael Gallup ahead of last week’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons and that they rested Cedrick Wilson for a majority of the contest. This week will come down to Gallup, Wilson, and CeeDee Lamb carrying the load at the wide receiver position.

4 burning questions for NFL Week 11 include Cam, the Browns, and Cowboys - SB Nation
Is Dallas ready to prove their dominance? One of the big (and unfair, as I’m concerned) criticisms of the Cowboys is that they haven’t had a really touch schedule. Some of that is fair, especially considering how weak the NFC East is — but I’ve been very bullish on Dallas so far. Week 11 is an interesting test. The Chiefs have started to find their footing again following a disastrous start to the season, and are fighting for a playoff spot. Meanwhile for Dallas, this is a case of needing to assert their dominance and solidify themselves as one of the best teams in the NFC, capable of taking home field advantage through the playoffs. I really want to see how this all shakes out. It’s a fascinating game and I’d like to see if Dallas can do it.

Dolphins vs Jets 2021 Week 11 injury report: Wilson doubtful, Wilkins questionable - The Phinsider
The injury report for the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets Week 11 showdown is fairly short for a game so late in the season. The Dolphins side of the report only listed two players, while the Jets side included three players. No one was ruled out for the contest. The Dolphins included linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel and defensive lineman Christian Wilkins on their report. Van Ginkel has been dealing with a back injury that had him limited in practice all week, while Wilkins has a quad injury that kept him out of Wednesday’s practice, then had him return on a limited basis Thursday and Friday. Both players were listed as questionable on Friday’s report.

Colts Injury Report: LB Darius Leonard Listed As QUESTIONABLE - Stampede Blue
Linebacker Darius a Leonard is listed as QUESTIONABLE for Sunday’s game with ankle and hand injuries. Leonard did manage to practice in a limited capacity on Thursday and Friday. Leonard has been known to play through injuries especially this year so has a good chance of playing Sunday still despite the questionable status. All the others listed on the injury report managed a full practice today and therefore do not have an injury designation for Sunday. The Colts will be going into a huge game on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills with a very healthy team.

NFL Reacts #16: Patriots are a problem, Cam Newton, Cowboys v. Chiefs, and Pick 3 - The SB Nation NFL Show
Welcome to another edition of NFL Reacts! Stephen Serda, Justis Mosqueda, and Kate Magdziuk discuss the Patriots 5 game win streak and the ceiling for their season. Cam Newton will start Sunday against the Washington Football Team and he’s a great fantasy value quarterback this week. Chiefs and Cowboys have all the makings of an offensive explosion but the Bengals and Raiders might be the discount shootout to target. We finish things up with ‘pick 3’ to help you set your DraftKings lineups.

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