All of a sudden, the tight end room of the Philadelphia Eagles is eerily quiet.
With free agency set to kick off on March 11, the trio of Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcaterra, and Kylen Granson finds themselves free to leave the building and test the waters, with only developmental piece Cameron Latu still on the positional depth chart.
And while recent reports suggest that Goedert wants to remain in town, there will be significant snaps up for grabs regardless of how the longtime starter's situation plays out. With or without Goedert back in the fold, there remains a glaring need within the tight end group. Doling out punishment in the run game has never been Goedert's forte, while Calcaterra - though a solid asset at times in the passing attack - resembled a turnstile on run plays far too often.
Simply put, the time to land someone who can move bodies at the position is long past due.
Eagles might have perfect tight end available for team
Enter free agent John FitzPatrick, a towering specimen at 6-foot-7, 262 pounds, whom new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion knows quite well from their days together in Green Bay. An imposing asset in the ground game, FitzPatrick has never been called on much by air (12 catches, 72 yards, one touchdown last season), but as a specialist in multiple tight end sets, he can make the occasional checkdown grab, and above all, he can bull-doze defenders.
Entering free agency for what will be his fourth pro season, the former Georgia Bulldog and sixth-round selection of the Falcons has always relished doing the dirty work.
While in Athens, Georgia, FitzPatrick (38 games, 13 career starts) operated in an electric Georgia offense that had Brock Bowers and multiple weapons making plays ahead of him. Ditto in Atlanta at his position (TE Kyle Pitts) as well as Green Bay (Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrove).
Back when Atlanta drafted him, FitzPatrick assessed his own strengths in speaking to atlantafalcons.com.
"A force in the run game," FitzPatrick remarked. "If you're looking to advance your run game, I'm the guy. And I'm going to do it as soon as I step in the building."
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With several players at the position leaving the Novacare Complex as free agents, there's room available. And the time to call on the services of FitzPatrick is fast approaching.