Eagles activate two players, place Lane Johnson on IR originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles activated Zach Ertz and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside Wednesday and formally placed Lane Johnson on Injured Reserve.
Ertz had been on Injured Reserve since hurting his ankle in the Ravens game back in Week 6. He’s missed five games.
Arcega-Whiteside has been on the COVID list the last two weeks and was a healthy inactive the week before. The second-year receiver hasn’t played since the Cowboys game in Week 8.
Arcega-Whiteside, who has just two receptions this year, went on the COVID list on Nov. 19 along with Vinny Curry, Corey Clement and practice squad receiver Deontay Burnett.
Clement and Curry were activated on Nov. 27 and played against the Seahawks. Burnett remains on the practice squad COVID list.
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As for Johnson, he told reporters last week that his lingering ankle injury will require season-ending surgery. Johnson initially hurt his ankle in a game against the Jaguars two years ago in London and has already had one surgery to try and repair it.
Johnson, the 4th pick in the 2013 draft, missed four games in 2014 and 10 in 2016 after testing positive for banned substances. He missed five games last year with the ankle injury. By the end of this year, he will have missed 30 games since 2014 with suspensions and injuries.
Ertz, whose 549 career catches are 12th-most in NFL history among tight ends, was off to a terrible start this year with just 24 catches for 178 yards and one touchdown in the Eagles’ first six games.
In his absence, Dallas Goedert has played well — he has 30 catches for 338 yards in seven games — and Richard Rodgers has emerged as a solid receiving option with 24-for-345.
Over the last three weeks, Goedert (185) and Rodgers (161) rank 3rd and 5th in the NFL in receiving yards by tight ends.
The Eagles on Sunday face the Packers, who drafted Rodgers in the third round in 2014.
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