A new offensive identity awaits

PHILADELPHIA — Changes forced upon the Philadelphia Eagles during a season ravaged like no other by injuries mean they will come out the other end of this obstacle course with a new offensive identity.

The process actually is closer to completion than to inception, thanks to the accelerated evolution of wide receivers Travis Fulgham, John Hightower and Greg Ward and offensive linemen Jordan Mailata, Nate Herbig and Jack Driscoll, the sudden good health of Richard Rodgers and the sudden poor health of fellow tight end Zach Ertz and left tackle Andre Dillard.

Those are just the principal characters in an opera that gets more dramatic every week.

Suffice to say that it’s possible Ertz and wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery all have played their last games as Eagles; that 10-year veteran center Jason Kelce, who now has a 1-year-old at home, certainly doesn’t need to subject his battered body to any more abuse after this season; and that tackleturned-guard-turned tackle Jason Peters is literally on his last legs. Jeffery is the biggest mystery here. Identified by the team to sycophants as the source of all those anonymous criticisms of quarterback Carson Wentz reported by ESPN’s Josina Anderson last year, he could have easily been kept on the physically-unable-to-perform list heading into this season as he continued to recover from foot surgery.

Surprisingly, the Eagles activated him before the start of the season. Not surprisingly, he hasn’t played because now he supposedly has a new injury, this time to a calf muscle.

But the Eagles aren’t fooling anyone anymore. The only reason he was activated was to make him easier to move in a trade, which hasn’t happened because no team in the NFL is willing to pay for a low-priority asset they can get as a free agent just as soon as the Eagles

make him one.

Either way, the odds of Jeffery playing for the Eagles next year are about the same as J.T. Realmuto leading the Phillies to the 2021 World Series.

Though he didn’t speak anonymously, Ertz likely talked his way into a certain trip out of Philadelphia as well when he went public with his contract frustration near the end of training camp.

Even Dallas Goedert spoke up about Ertz, saying the team needed to reward the veteran with a lucrative extension.

But because of the salary-cap hell that even general manager Howie Roseman, a known wizard, can’t get them out of, the Eagles long ago decided they would pay only one tight end premium money. Goedert, a 2018 second-round draft pick who is not even eligible for an extension until after this season, is that player.

Good as Ertz has been in building what could arguably be a Hall of Fame resumé since 2013, the choice really wasn’t difficult. Goedert in 34 career games has caught 104 passes for 1,079 yards and 10 TDs.

In his first 34 career games, Ertz caught 100 passes for 1,234 yards and seven TDs.

But his yards per catch have leveled off to the point where his career average is only 10.8, compared to Goedert’s 10.4.

And guess who’s the better blocker and four years younger?

Jackson is looking at rehab from another serious injury, this time an ankle fracture. He’s less than two months from his 34th birthday and, like Ertz, he has no more guaranteed money left on his contract after this year.

So for better or for worse, here’s your projected starting offense in 2021:

QB: Carson Wentz

RB: Miles Sanders

WR: Fulgham

WR: Jalen Reagor

WR: Ward or Marquise Goodwin

TE: Goedert

LT: Dillard

LG: Isaac Seumalo

C: Herbig or Driscoll

RG: Brandon Brooks

RT: Lane Johnson

Mailata will be the 2021 version of the 2016-19 Halapoulivaati Vaitai and could wind up starting just as many games. Hightower figures to be a key player as well. Same for Rodgers, though his contract is up at the end of this season.

Some draft picks and maybe a low-cost free agent or two will be sprinkled in there.

But these are your main players, which could feature just two starters (Brooks and Johnson) from the offense that took the field in Super Bowl LII less than three years ago.

And you know what? They don’t look too bad. Not too bad at all.

As a whole, they’re definitely better than any group they’ve put on the field since.

Of course all of this is contingent on good health, which is something the Eagles have never had since coach Doug Pederson took over in 2016.

Still, it can’t hurt to dream.