New TE Richard Rodgers brings experience, depth and special teams ability to Eagles
4 April 2018 Eagles News
The Eagles agreed to a one-year deal with tight end Richard Rodgers and he brings them more than just a backup tight end.
#Packers free agent TE Richard Rodgers is signing a 1-year deal with the #Eagles, source said. He goes to a place that uses the TE as much as anyone to reboot his career. He hopes to recreate the success from 2015, when he had 8 TDs.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 4, 2018
On the offensive side of the ball, Rodgers is coming off of a year which saw him catch 12 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown. However, a down year for the Packers which saw quarterback Aaron Rodgers go down injured if likely the result for the low production. Rodgers has been productive in the NFL as simply just a receving tight end. In 2015, he caught 58 passes for 510 yards and eight touchdowns.
As for his ability on special teams he played about 25% of the special teams snaps this season for the Packers. After losing tight end Trey Burton who played a similar role for the Eagles as Rodgers played for the Packers, this signing makes sense for both the Eagles and Rodgers.
The consenus is, the Eagles are not expecting Rodgers to come in and make waves with the team. In hindsight, he has a role which is more important than you think, but his role is just smaller than the normal starter. If the Eagles could get some of that 2015 production out of Rodgers, great, but if not, he can still be an important player on the team.
Now, going forward, this move might halt the Eagles approach to the draft because the Eagles do not need to draft a tight end in the first round. But, with their spot in the draft, taking the best player available may just mean that that player is a tight end like Dallas Goedert. Signing Rodgers to a one-year deal does give them that option because the Eagles are not stuck with him for the long haul, but for right now, this signing will have immediate impact going forward for this team.
Photo Credit: Evan Siegle Green Bay Packers
Ryan Neal Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Richard Rodgers