A medical assessment of Dallas Goedert’s forearm injury

The Eagles’ home win over the Cowboys was monumental in their quest for back-to-back NFC East titles, but it wasn’t without its downsides. Star tight end Dallas Goedert, finally finding his rhythm after a slow start to 2023, was injured during the game.

As Goedert caught a pass and ran down the sideline, Cowboys safety Markquese Bell had a questionable tackle on the tight end when Goedert’s arm was twisted as he was brought to the ground:

Goedert suffered a broken forearm, left the field and did not return to the game.

The initial prediction is that Goedert could only be out for four weeks, which seems relatively positive considering how cruel this slow-motion replay looks. The Eagles’ upcoming bye week comes at an opportune time for potential recovery. Goedert could be placed on IR in the short term, which would cause him to miss the Eagles’ next four games (not just the next four weeks). If the Eagles believe a four-week window rather than four games is more realistic, they could keep him on the active roster as they do their best to get by without him against Kansas City, Buffalo and San Francisco.

So what should Eagles fans expect?

PhillyVoice spoke with Dr. Dinesh Dhanaraj, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports Medicine with a focus on sports medicine at St. Mary’s Orthopedicsabout Goedert’s broken forearm.

“They actually heal faster than you can imagine,” said Dr. Dhanaraj said compared to fractures to ligament injuries such as sprains or cruciate ligament tears. “Usually you put in a plate and screws. We call it ‘healing with steel.'” It usually takes about six weeks. Hypothetically, you could put some sort of guard in place, get him moving, and protect him after four weeks.”

Goedert’s career was a mix of great success on the field whenever he suited up and time spent sidelined. He missed five games in 2022 due to injury, one in 2021 and four in 2020. Goedert is just as efficient as a pass catcher as he was in the NFL, but the physical style of play that makes him so good with his run-after mode, the catching ability can take a toll.

“Obviously the quicker you come back the greater the risk of injury because the biologic lasts six weeks, but they have modalities that can sometimes speed things up, especially at the professional level.” DR. Dhanaraj continued. “If he protects it, he could go back and block and catch and hypothetically be effective around that four-week mark.”

In Goedert’s absence, the Eagles will rely on Jack Stoll, a block-first TE, and Grant Calcaterra, who thrived as a receiver in college but also has injury issues of his own. Albert Okwuegbunam was also taken over at the end of August. Perhaps the stocky Julio Jones will find himself in more of a tight end-like role on the field, like a former star pitcher moving to the bullpen arm.

The No. 1 seed in the NFC is on the horizon for the Eagles and they will need Goedert to get there upon his return, but as long as he is back in the postseason, the Birds should still be able to return to the Super Bowl.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and guest contributors and do not reflect the official policies or positions of any NFL team or any team’s sports physicians.

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