Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Coming and Going

Posted September 23rd, 2026 | No Comments »

Roster turnover is a fact of life in the NFL. It can be really frustrating when you lose players you like and had hopes for. The flip side is that it can be great to add a player to an area that is hurt by injury or simply needs upgrading. The Eagles made several changes in recent days.

  • Signed TE Zach Ertz to the practice squad
  • Signed NB/S Kenny Moore to the practice squad
  • Released DT Gabe Hall from the practice squad
  • Lost S Maximus Pulley from the practice squad when he signed with the Rams

Moore has spent most of his career playing in the slot. He was with the Colts when Nick Sirianni was there so they have experience together. Vic Fangio was asked about Moore in his PC today and said he knew nothing about him and hadn’t watched Moore. This is a Howie move, not something the defensive coaches pushed for. The addition of Moore could mean Michael Carter will focus on playing safety. He’s been the top backup at slot and safety to this point. We’ll find out more about the plan for Moore and the other DBs in time. We can only speculate for now.

The Eagles had a trio of talented young DBs in Kapena Gushiken, Maximus Pulley and Cole Wisniewski. Gush is now with the Colts and Pulley is a Ram. Ugh. You hate to lose guys that showed promise and gave you potentially cheap, young options in the secondary. Wis is still on the Eagles practice squad. He was slowed by injuries in the spring and summer, but has good NFL potential.

I was surprised Hall didn’t get claimed when the Eagles let him go as part of the roster cuts. He played well this summer. He’s got a good combination of size and athleticism. It will be interesting to see if anyone picks him up.

Let’s go back to the addition of Ertz. I wrote a bit about him previously, but he’s worth discussing some more. Devin Jackson wrote a good piece for the Inquirer and came up with this conclusion.

Expectations should be set low for Ertz, considering his age and return from a significant injury. But if the tight end can look somewhat like he did as a receiver last season, when he contributed a throwback performance against the Broncos one game before his injury (10 catches, 106 yards) the Eagles may get more than a feel-good story.

I think that is a fair summary.

Ertz is a talented pass catcher, even at the age of 35 (almost 36). He has good hands. He is still a good route runner. Ertz is comfortable working the middle of the field and remains a solid red zone threat. He can help this offense. The big X-factor is his return from an ACL injury. Ertz has had enough time to heal and get back to where he needs to be from a generic perspective, but every ACL injury can be different based on the player’s size, injury history, the position they play and the severity of the injury. I’m guessing the Eagles wouldn’t have signed Ertz if they didn’t feel strongly that he could help them.

Dallas Goedert will miss a few weeks. The Eagles will need a combination of Johnny Mundt, EJ Jenkins and Ertz to get them through Goedert’s absence. Ertz is the best receiver. He’s never been a great blocker, but hopefully can be effective. Mundt is more blocker than receiver. Jenkins had a strong summer as a blocker. He’s still a mystery overall since he’s not played that much on offense. This group should be good enough to get the Eagles through 2 to 3 games. It certainly wouldn’t be ideal for an extended period.

It will be interesting to see if the Eagles use 11 personnel even more in DG’s absence. The WRs played well on Sunday and that group has good depth. They have mostly been in 11 personnel so far this season and the number could get even higher.

*****

The team still has an open roster spot. We thought they might use that on Ertz, but put him on the practice squad instead.

We don’t know for sure what Howie is thinking. He could be looking to add a safety or another TE. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. Keeping the spot gives the Eagles options. We know Howie is constantly talking to agents and other teams to see who is available. He always wants to upgrade the roster when the right move is possible.

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