Eagles Elevate Ertz and Ojukwu Ahead of Jaguars Game

The Philadelphia Eagles elevated tight end Zach Ertz and offensive tackle John Ojukwu from the practice squad before their Week 5 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. The moves addressed depth needs amid injuries and major changes across the roster.

According to the Eagles and Bleeding Green Nation, Ertz received his third and final regular-season elevation, meaning Philadelphia must sign him to the active roster if it wants him available for future games. Ojukwu was elevated to provide offensive line depth.

Ertz has played 32 offensive snaps over the previous two games, recording three catches for 22 yards since returning to Philadelphia. The Eagles also welcomed back Dallas Goedert, creating a deeper tight end group with Johnny Mundt and E.J. Jenkins.

The offensive line situation changed after Lane Johnson announced his retirement and the Eagles traded Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens. Drew Kendall was also unavailable against Jacksonville, leaving Jordan Mailata, Willie Lampkin, Jake Majors, Tyler Steen and Markel Bell as the projected starters.

John Ojukwu brings tackle experience and had also taken 10 preseason snaps at guard, giving Philadelphia another emergency option on the interior. Fred Johnson and Micah Morris were listed among the other backup offensive line options.

The Eagles have not finalized Lane Johnson's roster status after his retirement announcement. Reports from The Athletic cited salary cap considerations involving nearly $22 million connected to Johnson's contract situation.

One cap source discussed possible solutions for handling Johnson's retirement situation.

"They’ll figure it out easily enough," said one cap guru.

The same source explained that the issue involves administrative handling of future salary cap effects.

"Just some accounting gymnastics, as all cap problems are," said one cap guru.

Another cap source highlighted the sensitivity of resolving the contract situation because of Johnson's standing with the organization.

"They have to be careful about forfeiture," said a second cap guy.

The source added that any decision would need to consider Johnson's contributions and reputation.

"Asking someone of his stature and what he’s done won’t look good," said a second cap guy.

The Eagles also made earlier practice squad changes involving linebacker Chance Campbell and Anfernee Orji. Philadelphia placed Campbell on the practice squad injured list and later released him with an injury settlement.

Campbell had been elevated for the Week 3 game against the Chicago Bears, where he played 11 special teams snaps and recorded one tackle. Orji joined the practice squad after entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 2023.

Philadelphia entered the Jaguars matchup without several key players ruled out, including Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Drew Kendall, Hollywood Brown and Marcus Epps, according to the team's injury report.