Eagles place Zach Ertz on IR, activate Matt Pryor, make two practice squad promotions

The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced some roster moves ahead of their Week 7 game against the New York Giants. An overview:

• TE Zach Ertz placed on injured reserve.
• OG Matt Pryor activated from reserve/COVID-19 list.
• OG Jamon Brown signed to practice squad.
• OG Jamon Brown and DT T.Y. McGill elevated from practice squad.

Let’s sort through this on a player-by-player basis.

ZACH ERTZ

Ertz going on IR means he must miss at least three games (to be clear: not just three weeks) before being eligible to return. He won’t be able to play until the Eagles take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 11 at the earliest. It’s possible he’ll be out even longer with Mike Garafolo saying he could miss four-to-six weeks. We wrote more about the Eagles’ outlook without Ertz earlier today.

It should be noted that Ertz’s ankle injury throws a wrench in the Eagles potentially looking to sell him before the NFL trade deadline.

MATT PRYOR

Pryor was activated from the COVID list on Wednesday night but the Eagles were given a temporary exemption to make a corresponding roster move.

It remains to be seen if Pryor will resume his role as the team’s starting right guard. He hasn’t practiced since last Wednesday. The Eagles might opt to go with Nate Herbig at right guard and Sua Opeta at left guard. In that case, Pryor could provide depth at both guard spots in addition to jumping in at right tackle if/when Lane Johnson has to leave the game early.

JAMON BROWN

The Eagles cut Brown on Wednesday but signed him to the practice squad and immediately elevated him to the roster. As we saw in Week 6, the Eagles are in trouble if he has to play. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. The Eagles should look to cut Brown (again) after this game and bring in almost literally any other guard to replace him on the practice squad. Adding someone like Julian Good-Jones, who spent time with the Eagles in training camp, could make more sense than keeping Brown around.

T.Y. MCGILL

The Eagles used a practice squad protection on McGill earlier this week since Malik Jackson is missing tonight’s game. He’ll be the fourth defensive tackle behind Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Hassan Ridgeway.

It’s worth noting the Eagles did not elevate Prince Tega Wanogho after using a practice squad protection on him.