Sirianni gives hope Goedert will be back sooner than expected

The Eagles did not place Dallas Goedert on injured reserve. This seems important.

Head coach Nick Sirianni said the same thing on Saturday.

“We have high hopes for Dallas’ return,” Sirianni said. “Again, I don’t know when. I think it’s unfair to Dallas. But, yeah, there’s a reason he’s not on IR yet.”

The implication here is that the Eagles believe Goedert could be back within the next four weeks. If the Eagles place Goedert on IR, he will be forced to miss the next four games.

But it now appears that Goedert, 28, could be back within the next month from a broken forearm suffered against the Cowboys on Nov. 5.

Since Goedert broke his arm before the bye, he had an extra week to heal that couldn’t be covered during the IR, forcing you to miss at least four games, Not four weeks.

As a reminder, here’s a look at the Eagles’ next four games:

November 20: Week 11 on Chiefs

November 26: Week 12 vs. Bills

December 3: Week 13 vs. 49ers

December 10: Week 14 at Cowboys

There’s no guarantee that Goedert will return during this four-game stretch, but given his importance to the offense, it’s worth a try. Even if there was, say, a 25% chance Goedert would return for one of those tough, very important games in early December against the 49ers and Cowboys, it would be worth it to earn a roster spot over the next month. Goedert is a very important part of this offense.

In the meantime, the Eagles will be without Goedert and will have to rely on several other players to fill the void. At tight end, Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra and Albert Okwuegbunam will all be pushed to the top of the depth chart. But the Eagles will also rely on their receivers and running backs to take control of some targets that otherwise would have gone to Goedert in the passing game.

While Goedert’s numbers this season haven’t been gaudy, he has been playing well. Through nine games, Goedert has 38 catches for 410 yards and two touchdowns and has been a blocking force in the run game.

This week, Goedert was a spectator during practice.