Ankle fracture lands Goedert on injured list

The Eagles will miss one of their most productive offensive weapons for the next few weeks.

Tight end Dallas Goedert was diagnosed with an ankle fracture Tuesday and placed on injured reserve. He’ll sit for a minimum of three weeks but is considered to be out indefinitely.

Technically the No. 2 tight end behind Pro Bowler Zach Ertz, Goedert has been the most productive receiver for the Eagles in yardage. He has 13 receptions for a team- high 138 yards and a touchdown.

To replace Goedert, the Eagles signed Hakeem Butler off the Carolina Panthers practice squad Tuesday. The 6- foot- 5, 225- pound Butler was a wide receiver at Iowa State and a fourth- round draft selection in 2019. He spent all of his rookie season on injured reserve.

Goedert and wide receiver DeSean Jacksonwent down in Sunday’s 23- 23 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals. Jackson is considered daytodaywith a lower- body injury, but coach Doug Pederson saidMonday he is hopeful Jackson will be available Sunday night in San Francisco.

The Eagles ( 0- 2- 1) go for their first win of the season against the reigning NFC champion 49ers ( 2- 1), who have scored more than 30 points in each of their last two games, blowout wins against the Jets and Giants.

If theEagleswant to keep pace with the high- scoring Niners, they’ll have to do so with a depleted receiving corps. Goedert, Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, JJ ArcegaWhiteside and Jalen Reagor are dealing with injuries. Jeffery has missed all three games and Reagor is sidelined for several weeks with a broken thumb.

“The thing thatwe look at nowmoving forward, we’re going to have to find creative and uniqueways to use all our players on offense,” Pederson said Monday. “We did it at the end of the season last year. We won four straight ( games) to get us into the postseason, and it appears we’re going to have to do that again.”

This should mean more opportunities for wide receiverGregWard, whowas a top target for CarsonWentz down the stretch last year. Ward was the Eagles’ leading receiver against the Bengals, finishing with eight catches for 72 yards and a touchdown.

“We have the same expectations, which is to go out there and make plays. My message to everybody, especially the young guys, is to go out there and control what we can control,”

Ward said Tuesday. “I have the same expectations and standards for myself every single game. We’re hoping those guys play, but regardless ofwhat happens, I’mgoing to make sure I’m ready and I’mon top ofmy game.”

Overall, the Eagles have been a poor offensive team underWentz, who is having by far the worst season of his career. Among starting quarterbacks, Wentz is 29th in QB rating ( 35.5) and has thrown a league- leading six interceptions. Wentz’s struggles are partially attributed to a pass- catching corps that not only has suffered injuries but has generally underperformed over the first three weeks of the season.

“All of our guys are capable of getting open and we are going to get open. We’re going to continue to do our job to the best of our abilities,” Ward said. “I think that’s the main thing, as far as playing as a receiver in the NFL, is to get open. That’s what we get paid to do.

“I think we need to go back to the practice field and correct all the littlemistakes and just detail ourwork.”

• • • Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was encouraged by the improvement of his group last Sunday. Schwartz took the brunt of the blame for the defense’s disastrous performance Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams.

While the defense showed life against the lowly Bengals, they still allowed rookie quarterback Joe Burrow to throw for 302 yards and two touchdowns and failed to create a turnover.

“I was happier with our response to adversity,” Schwartz said. “We talked about that last week and howwe’re takingthefieldafter turnovers or bad field position and giving up touchdowns. We took the field after a turnover, forcedapunt. Took the field after a punt and a penalty and they’re already in field goal range, held the line, held them to a field goal attempt. After another turnover, we gave up a couple first downs, butwe held themto a field goal attempt, and I thought that was a really positive step for our guys also.”