Eagles Activate G Landon Dickerson, TE Eli Stowers From IR
As injuries ransack the Eagles’ roster, the two-time reigning NFC East champions are home underdogs against the Cowboys tonight. Tanner McKee, however, will have some reinforcements as he prepares to make his second start in place of Jalen Hurts this season.
The Eagles activated three players from IR ahead of their Week 7 game. Landon Dickerson and tight ends Eli Stowers and Grant Calcaterra are back on the 53-man roster. Because Calcaterra was designated for return in August, his activation was already factored into the Eagles’ regular-season equation. The Dickerson and Stowers’ transactions, however, drop Philadelphia’s activation count to five.
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Dickerson played in Week 1 but has been on IR since. A bone bruise in his knee moved the Pro Bowl guard off the roster; Dickerson had said soon after the IR placement he had been battling the issue since training camp and should not have played in the Eagles’ opener. He is now back, but much has changed in Philly during the high-priced left guard’s time away.
Hurts is out for the season because of his much-discussed blood clot issue, and two pillars from the Philly O-line who had lined up with Dickerson to open the season — right tackle Lane Johnson, center Cam Jurgens — are gone. Johnson retired before Week 5, and the Eagles soon traded Jurgens to the Ravens. Dickerson represents a welcome addition to an O-line in flux, but trade rumors have followed him as well.
Dickerson is believed to be disgruntled, and the 28-year-old blocker may be on the trade block. The Alabama product denied reports of retirement consideration this offseason, but the Eagles did remove a season from his contract in a transaction that also brought a pay cut. Dickerson played hurt last season, battling knee and ankle issues. He still played 16 games (counting Philly’s wild-card loss) and was a Pro Bowler from 2022-24. The Eagles have Dickerson tied to what is now a three-year, $58.5MM contract.
The Eagles will at least have three of their Week 1 starting O-line in uniform tonight, with Dickerson joining Jordan Mailata and Tyler Steen. The team will also see what Stowers looks like in game action. Stowers landed on IR before Week 1 with hamstring and quad issues. Philly drafted Stowers in the second round, identifying the Vanderbilt alum as a receiving option. Stowers could become Dallas Goedert’s heir apparent, with the sides agreeing on a one-year deal in March.
Philadelphia will have its top pieces at tight end together for the first time. Goedert returned from injury two weeks ago, but Calcaterra has been on IR all season. A back injury led the Eagles to use an IR-return designation on him in August.
Goedert, Stowers, Calcaterra and Johnny Mundt are in line to be Philly’s tight ends tonight; Zach Ertz is out of practice squad elevations and was not signed to the team’s active roster, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane. The Eagles also elevated running back Elijah Mitchell and outside linebacker Keyshawn James-Newby.
Eagles Open Four Practice Windows
OCTOBER 15: When asked by The Athletic’s Zach Berman about the team’s stance on its left guard starter, Dickerson simply deferred to Sirianni and Roseman. It will be interesting to see if a return to first-team duties is in store in the short term and if a trade could become something to watch for over the coming weeks.
OCTOBER 14: The Eagles opened practice windows for left guard Landon Dickerson, tight ends Eli Stowers and Grant Calcaterra, and defensive back Jakorian Bennett on Wednesday. They will have 21 days to activate any or all of those players.
The Eagles’ offensive line has undergone massive changes since the team placed Dickerson on IR with a bone bruise in his right knee after Week 1. Right tackle Lane Johnson and center Cam Jurgens, two of Dickerson’s longtime linemates since he entered the NFL in 2021, are no longer in the fold. Johnson abruptly retired last Tuesday, and the Eagles traded Jurgens to the Ravens the next day.
In what ended up as his last three games with the Eagles, Jurgens slid over to fill in for Dickerson at left guard. That experiment didn’t go well, though, and 2025 UDFA Willie Lampkin made his first career start there in the Eagles’ loss to the Jaguars in Week 5. Dickerson could reclaim the spot sometime in the next three weeks, but head coach Nick Sirianni wouldn’t say whether the three-time Pro Bowler will start when he returns, according to Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman gave Dickerson a four-year, $84MM extension in March 2024, though the sides agreed to amend the contract this past offseason. The Eagles removed one season from the deal, leaving Dickerson under contract through 2027 for approximately $36MM.
If Philadelphia no longer sees Dickerson as a slam-dunk starter, it could take the same path it did with Jurgens and ship him out by the Nov. 10 trade deadline. It would not be a surprise if Roseman receives calls on Dickerson, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. However, despite a 2-3 start and a three-game losing streak, the Eagles are not planning a fire sale, Rapoport says. Even with a subpar record, they are in the thick of the race in the underwhelming NFC East. The Giants, who lost starting quarterback Jaxson Dart for the season in Week 2, lead the division at 3-1-1. Like the Eagles, the Cowboys (2-3) and Commanders (1-3-1) are under .500.
If Dickerson sticks with the Eagles beyond the deadline, it will be interesting to see whether he finishes 2026 as a starter. While the 28-year-old has started in 78 of 79 games during his career, he struggled mightily in his lone appearance this season. If that continues, the Eagles could release Dickerson in the offseason and save $1.91MM in cap space at the cost of $12.13MM in dead money.
The Eagles designated Calcaterra (back) and Bennett (knee) to return when they placed them on IR at the end of August. That left the team with six remaining IR activations for the regular season. Stowers, the Eagles’ second-round pick this year, went on IR with hamstring and quadriceps injuries on the eve of the team’s season opener. He has yet to make his NFL debut, though it appears that will change in the next few weeks.
Eagles Place Rookie TE Eli Stowers On IR
As the Eagles announced their roster transactions ahead of tomorrow’s season opener, the media got a bit of a surprise when the team declared that rookie tight end Eli Stowers had been downgraded to out with quadriceps and hamstring injuries and would be placed on injured reserve. Philadelphia also announced that wide receiver Britain Covey would be called up as a standard gameday practice squad elevation.
The second-round pick out of Vanderbilt was the second tight end taken in a very deep draft at the position. The Eagles intended for Stowers to come in and improve the team’s secondary options behind Dallas Goedert at tight end after Grant Calcaterra finished second in the tight ends room with only nine catches for 92 yards in 15 games last year. Instead, he’ll join Calcaterra on IR while free agent addition Johnny Mundt will presumably take up TE2 duties across from Goedert.
The reason the media was surprised to hear about Stowers’ prognosis is because they received a starkly different message yesterday. After being limited at practice, Stowers told reporters he was confident he would play (via Mike Garafolo of NFL Network). Zach Berman of The Athletic clarified that Stowers had been questionable because of the hamstring injury but reported the quadriceps discomfort yesterday and underwent some imaging that determined he had a strain that would “require a weeks-long absence.”
Berman also notes that Stowers’ extended absence should only increase speculation about the return of a certain fan favorite. Back around the roster cut deadline, rumors emerged that the Eagles might reunite with former longtime tight end Zach Ertz, following his stints with the Cardinals and Commanders. His time in Washington proved Ertz could still produce at a high level, even if he’s about to be entering his age-36 season. Ertz is only 11 receptions away from setting Philadelphia’s all-time franchise record, and a minimum four-week absence for Stowers could open Ertz’s window to the record books.
Eagles Sign Round 2 TE Eli Stowers
The second tight end to come off the board in this year’s class, Eli Stowers joined an Eagles team that has used similar developmental strategies at the position
Philadelphia re-signed Dallas Goedert in March but looks to have an heir apparent in place. That prospect is now tied to a four-year contract, with the Eagles announcing Monday that Stowers put pen to paper. The No. 54 overall pick will be tied to an $8.89MM deal. Based on agreements for players selected around Stowers, most of this contract will be guaranteed.
With Browns safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren receiving three fully guaranteed years as the No. 58 overall pick — to go with a partial Year 4 guarantee, per OverTheCap — Stowers will see three fully guaranteed years and a chunk of his 2029 salary locked in at signing. This year’s Nos. 55, 56 and 57 overall draftees have not been signed, but the Colts’ deal for No. 53 overall pick C.J. Allen includes a $639K guarantee on a $2.13MM 2029 base salary. Stowers assuredly secured a comparable guarantee in 2029. For now, he will get to work in a position group fronted by a long-running incumbent.
Under Howie Roseman, the Eagles identified Goedert in Round 2 (2018) while Zach Ertz was still rostered. Ertz and Goedert played together for three-plus seasons, before Ertz extension talks did not yield an agreement; Ertz was then traded to the Cardinals during the 2021 season. The Eagles extended Goedert soon after. The team drafted Ertz in the 2013 second round. Brent Celek remained on Philly’s roster until 2017, but Ertz usurped him as the team’s top tight end by 2014. With Goedert on a one-year deal and entering an age-31 season, it will be interesting to see how long Stowers’ developmental period lasts.
Viewed as a player who drew some first-round buzz, Stowers went through the draft with a knee concern that impacted some teams’ interest. As our Connor Byrne noted, Stowers tore his left PCL and meniscus in 2019 while working as a high school quarterback. The Vanderbilt product bounced back nicely from that injury, but it is interesting some teams still viewed it as an issue.
Stowers was a unanimous All-American and the John Mackey Award winner (given to the best college tight end) in 2025. Stowers weighed 239 pounds and clocked a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. He profiles as a receiving tight end, whereas Goedert has been one of the league’s best all-around TEs for much of his career, and finished his final Commodores season with 62 catches for 769 yards. That came after a 49/638/5 line in 2024.
The Eagles will now begin their latest TE developmental program, after spending years without a Goedert successor option. Goedert is tied to a one-year, $7MM contract; that checks in lower than the pay-cut agreement the eight-year veteran signed in 2025 (one year, $10MM). Only one Eagles draftee — third-round tackle Markel Bell — remains unsigned.
Multiple Teams Had Concerns Over Eagles 2nd-Rounder Eli Stowers’ Knee
The Eagles have counted on tight end Dallas Goedert as one of their top pass-catching options throughout his eight-year career. Goedert is sticking around Philadelphia for a ninth season in 2026, but the team may have drafted his successor in second-rounder Eli Stowers.
The Eagles liked Stowers enough to select him 54th overall, though there were a “few” clubs that had concerns over what is believed to be a “minor” knee issue, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports. The Panthers, who passed on Stowers at pick 49 despite an obvious need at tight end, may have been among those teams. They “weren’t totally comfortable” with taking Stowers, per Fowler, though he does not specify the reason.
As a star high school quarterback, Stowers tore his left PCL and meniscus in 2019. The injury required surgery. Stowers has bounced back nicely from it, but there is nonetheless some leeriness regarding how the 6-foot-4, 239-pounder will hold up in the NFL.
After spending his first two college seasons as a backup QB at Texas A&M, Stowers transferred to New Mexico State in 2023. In the wake of multiple shoulder injuries, he transitioned to tight end. Stowers caught 35 passes for 366 yards and a pair of touchdowns in what proved to be his only season at New Mexico State. He moved to Vanderbilt in 2024 and became one of the most prolific tight ends in the nation. Stowers followed up a 49-catch, 638-yard, five-touchdown 2024 with 62 receptions, 769 yards and four TDs last year. He earned first-team All-SEC honors in both of his seasons with the Commodores. More impressively, Stowers was a unanimous All-American and the John Mackey Award winner (given to the best college tight end) in 2025.
A couple of months after wrapping up his superb Vanderbilt tenure, Stowers continued boosting his stock at the Combine in February. If his knee is a problem, he did a good job hiding it. Stowers’ 45.5-inch vertical leap set a record for his position, and he topped tight ends in the broad jump. He also finished tied for second among TEs in the 40-yard dash (4.51 seconds) and the 10-yard split, trailing only Jets first-rounder Kenyon Sadiq in those events.
Aside from Stowers’ knee, there are legitimate questions about his blocking skills (or lack thereof). But if Stowers’ past knee injury does not affect him going forward, his high upside as a receiving tight end suggests he could turn into a weapon for Philadelphia. With A.J. Brown likely on his way out via trade before next season, the Eagles restocked the cupboard in the draft in adding Stowers and first-round receiver Makai Lemon.
Tight End, Tackle On Broncos’ Draft Radar
The Jaylen Waddle trade required the Broncos’ first-round pick (and more) to complete, marking the fourth first-rounder Denver has traded since the 2022 offseason. The Broncos moved two firsts for Russell Wilson and then packaged the pick from the Bradley Chubb trade to obtain Sean Payton‘s rights. Denver including the No. 30 overall pick in the Waddle trade will mean another long wait for the AFC West franchise.
Sitting at No. 62, the defending AFC West champions do not look to have glaring needs. Two pathways have surfaced, however. Payton’s team has done plenty of work on tight ends, according to ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold. This has included “30” visits with Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers, Ohio State’s Max Klare and NC State’s Justin Joly. Stowers’ previously reported Denver visit is today, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds.
A two-year, $23MM Evan Engram contract was thought to stabilize a roster spot that had not provided much since the Noah Fant years, but Denver did not see Engram and Bo Nix click. The former Pro Bowler caught 50 passes for 461 yards and just one touchdown in 2025. The Broncos have been connected to bolstering their TE room previously, but one of their targets — Dallas Goedert — continued to see his void date in Philadelphia pushed back and ultimately re-signed with the Eagles. David Njoku remains unattached, but Denver interest has not been reported.
Engram will turn 32 in September, and $5MM of his $10.99MM 2026 base salary is guaranteed. The rest of that money does not lock in until September, however. The Broncos would be hit with $10.33MM in dead money were they to release Engram, who has one void year on his deal.
The prospect of the Broncos — with Nix still on a rookie contract — hanging onto Engram and adding a younger option may be in play, though the team re-signed ex-Payton Saints draftee Adam Trautman and retained tight end/fullback Nate Adkins in free agency. Although RFA Lucas Krull was nontendered, he re-signed at a lower rate.
Only one TE — Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq — sits in Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com top 50, and he will go well before No. 62. ESPN’s Scouts Inc. does rank Stowers 36th overall. The Payton-era Broncos have also displayed a penchant for trading up after Round 1, climbing to acquire Marvin Mims, Riley Moss and Troy Franklin between Rounds 2 and 4 from 2023-24. Klare and Joly respectively rank 64th and 92nd, per Scouts Inc.
Another path the Broncos could take involves their tackles’ ages. Garett Bolles will turn 34 in May, while Mike McGlinchey will play an age-32 season. Both are signed beyond 2026, but the team may need an heir apparent for at least one of its edge blockers soon. That is an area ESPN.com’s Matt Miller lists as being in play at No. 62.
The Broncos gave swingman Matt Peart a pay cut and re-signed fellow swing Alex Palczewski (two years, $9.5MM) last month. Options are there for 2026, but a starter-level tackle may need to be acquired either this year or next. Bolles has been Denver’s LT since 2017, while McGlinchey stopped a decade-long carousel at RT by signing in 2023.
Elsewhere on the Broncos’ roster, their decision to give Jonah Elliss inside linebacker reps stems in large part on giving 2025 fourth-round pick Que Robinson a chance at more playing time, the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel notes. Denver had Robinson behind Elliss in its outside linebacker rotation. Robinson played in just six games last season, being healthy-scratched for several contests, and recorded just a half-sack on 150 defensive snaps.
The Alabama product did sack Drake Maye in the AFC championship game, and the Broncos appear set to see what he has in the tank. Should Elliss indeed join brothers Kaden and Christian as a true ILB, the Broncos are looking at a second-string OLB duo of Robinson and Dondrea Tillman.
Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers Visits Rams, Titans, Cowboys; Broncos Next
Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq has the athletic profile of a wide receiver, which is one of the primary reasons he has emerged as a consensus first-round prospect. Another tight end getting looks as a receiver is Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“While officially he’s a TE, several teams are evaluating him as a WR,” Rapoport writes. This comes after Stowers set a Combine record with a 45.5-inch vertical jump and ranked second among this year’s participants with a 11-foot-3 broad jump. Among tight ends, his 4.51-second 40-yard dash and 1.59-second 10-yard split trailed only Sadiq, who posted 4.39-second and 1.54-second times in each category.
While those are impressive numbers for a tight end, Stowers’ speed is relatively average for a receiver, and without agility testing, it is unclear if he can separate from cornerbacks on the outside. More likely, he is a big slot rather than a legitimate wide receiver, though splitting him outside for red zone targets could yield some touchdowns.
Stowers has been making his rounds around the league in advance of April’s draft with visits to the Rams, Titans, and Cowboys already completed. A trip to Denver is scheduled for next week, Rapoport adds.
The Rams have plenty of tight end depth with veterans Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen, and Tyler Higbee. 2025 second-rounder Terrance Ferguson underwhelmed as a rookie but could certainly take a step forward in his second season. It’s unclear, therefore, where Stowers would fit in, unless Los Angeles is one of the teams who sees him as a receiver. They do not have much depth behind Puka Nacua and Davante Adams and could see Stowers as a versatile weapon to add to Sean McVay‘s offense.
The Titans let Chig Okonkwo walk in free agency and instead reunited former Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger with new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. But Bellinger has just 88 receptions for 934 yards in his career, so Tennessee could certainly stand to add an exciting young prospect to Cam Ward‘s supporting cast.
The Cowboys have Jake Ferguson signed through 2029 and did not use multiple tight ends at a high rate last year, but they could also see Stowers as an overall pass-catching addition who can complement CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in the slot.
Evan Engram disappointed in his debut season as a Bronco and is entering his age-32 season, so Denver may be looking for a long-term successor. They do not have a first-round pick, keeping them out of the running for Sadiq, but could pounce on Stowers on Day 2.
Two First-Round Tight Ends In 2026?
For much of the pre-draft process, a single tight end prospect has frequented first-round mock drafts. Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq has widely been considered the TE1 of the 2026 NFL Draft class with a stellar junior campaign and a promising build. According to Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom, another name may just sneak into the mix for Day 1 consideration.
La Canfora relayed yesterday that multiple executives “absolutely” have a first-round grade on Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers. Behind Sadiq, there’s really not been any consensus on ordering the hierarchy of the next tier of top tight ends. Ohio State’s Max Klare and Baylor’s Michael Trigg are also considered top players at the position.
Sadiq led all NCAA tight ends with eight receiving touchdowns on 51 catches for 560 yards. Stowers led the position group with 769 yards on 62 catches with four touchdowns. Limited to 11 games, Trigg enters the picture when you bring yards per game into account, finishing second at the position behind Stowers thanks to 50 receptions for 694 yards and six touchdowns. Houston tight end Tanner Koziol joins the party with a position-leading 74 catches that went for 727 yards and six touchdowns. Klare shined more during his tenure at Purdue but made several big plays for the Buckeyes this year.
Per La Canfora, one source saw Sadiq as everyone else did, a top-15 pick, but didn’t “see a huge drop-off between him and Stowers and Trigg. Another had concerns about whether some would last as tight ends or have to shift out to slot wide receivers, indicating Stowers posed no such dilemma. That source liked Trigg, too, but noted some character issues may hurt his stock.
There is certainly some talent available at the tight end position, but the distance between TE1 and TE2 — and the identity of TE2 — are still very much up for debate. Stowers, though, is bidding to join Sadiq in the first round.
