Eagles activate Zach Ertz and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, place Lane Johnson on injured reserve

The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced some roster moves on Wednesday. An overview:

• TE Zach Ertz activated from injured reserve.
• WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside activated from reserve/COVID-19 list.
• OT Lane Johnson placed on injured reserve.

ZACH ERTZ

Ertz suffered a high ankle injury during the Eagles’ Week 6 game against the Baltimore Ravens. He was originally placed on IR ahead of Week 7.

Ertz wasn’t having a very good season prior to getting hurt. His 45 targets only produced 24 receptions for 178 yards (very low 7.4 average) and one touchdown. He clearly wasn’t in sync with Carson Wentz like he normally is. Perhaps Wentz and Ertz can rediscover their rhythm but that doesn’t seem like a likely bet with the way Philly’s quarterback is struggling.

Ertz’s return figures to mean less playing time for Richard Rodgers, who has surprisingly exceeded expectations this season. Dick Rod goes back to being the third tight end behind both Ertz and Dallas Goedert.

It’s entirely possible that the next five games will be Ertz’s last with the Eagles. We all know he’s seeking a new contract and Philly shouldn’t be the team giving him one at this point. It’d be ideal to see Ertz play well down the stretch and rehab his trade value heading into the offseason.

J.J. ARCEGA-WHITESIDE

On a human level, it’s great to see that JJAW is healthy enough to rejoin the team after testing positive for the coronavirus.

From a football perspective, his return obviously doesn’t figure to be very significant. JJAW was a healthy scratch in his last game with the Eagles. That might be the case again moving forward since this team insists on playing Alshon Jeffery for no good reason.

LANE JOHNSON

Johnson to IR was expected after he told us last week that his injured ankle “collapsed.” This ankle injury is one that Johnson has been dealing with dating all the way back to October 2018. One can only wonder if it’ll continue to be a problem for the 30-year-old right tackle in the future. His focus now moves to getting right for the 2021 season. In the meantime, Matt Pryor is starting in Johnson’s stead. It remains to be seen if Jack Driscoll will get more looks there.

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The Eagles still have one open roster spot to fill.