Philadelphia Eagles

The man who knocked out Eagles TE Dallas Goedert last year is breathing easier today ... he was just sentenced for the punch, but received nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

A South Dakota court official tells TMZ Sports ... Kyle Hadala -- the 30-year-old who rocked Goedert's face at a bar in June 2020 -- pled guilty to misdemeanor simple assault earlier this month and was sentenced that same day.

His punishment, though, was light -- considering he was facing up to 1 year in jail and a potential $2,000 fine.

According to the court official, Hadala was sentenced to 60 days in jail ... but if he keeps his nose clean for the next year, he won't have to spend a single day behind bars.

We're told Hadala also had to pay court costs and fines that totaled $336.50. He was ordered to have no contact with Goedert for 1 year as well.

As we previously reported, Hadala punched Goedert on June 19 at Zoo Bar in Aberdeen, SD ... after he says Dallas threatened one of his friends during a night out drinking.

Sources close to Dallas -- who had to go to the hospital after the punch but was NOT seriously hurt -- tell us the 26-year-old was simply trying to play peacemaker before he was KO'd.

Carson Wentz just poured his heart out to his old teammates, fans and the Philadelphia Eagles organization ... thanking everyone for their love and support after being traded to the Colts.

Wentz was shipped to Indianapolis in exchange for a couple draft picks earlier this week ... officially ending his 5-year career with the Eagles.

The 28-year-old bid farewell to his first NFL home on Friday in a lengthy message, saying, "As one chapter closes, another one begins."

Wentz first thanked his Eagles teammates -- "I appreciate every one of you and will never forget the relationships and memories made over the years."

"So many lifelong relationships have been formed in that locker room. Thank you for the fellowship, the camaraderie in the locker room, and the daily battles out on the practice field!"

Wentz then showed love to the city of Philly ... adding, "You have been my home for the past five years. It has been everything a kid from Bismarck, North Dakota could have dreamed of."

"My family grew here, had a lot of fun, ate a lot of great food, got to be a part of an incredible church, and so many more memories off the field."

He continued ... "On the field, we brought the Lombardi trophy home to Philly and hopefully brought a lot of joy to the city over the years."

"Thank you to the amazing Eagles fans across the World that have supported my family, our foundation, and our football team through all of the wins and losses. It was an honor to play in a city whose passion and love for their football team is unrivaled."

Lastly, Wentz thanked the team that drafted him #2 overall back in 2016 and making his NFL dream a reality -- "Thank you Mr. Lurie, Howie Roseman & the Eagles front office, Coach Pederson & all of my coaches, our training staff, our equipment staff and all of the support staff at the Nova Care Complex."

"It has been an amazing journey and I wish you all the best."

Wentz says he's stoked for the new journey ahead with the Colts ... and it's easy to believe it -- he's already reached out to his new teammates via text and FaceTime!!

Carson Wentz is out in Philadelphia -- reportedly traded from the Eagles to the Indianapolis Colts ... for a pair of draft picks.

The deal is a little complicated but essentially comes down to this ... in exchange for Wentz, the Eagles get a 2021 3rd-round draft pick and a 2022 conditional 2nd-round pick that COULD turn into a 1st rounder.

How, exactly?

If Wentz takes 75% of the snaps at QB for the Colts in 2021 -- or if he takes 70% and the Colts make the playoff -- the 2nd rounder becomes a 1st rounder.

But, that's not really a guarantee -- since Wentz played poorly in 2020 and seems to be injury-prone.

Just to compare ... when the L.A. Rams traded for Matthew Stafford, they gave up Jared Goff PLUS two 1st round picks and a 3rd round pick.

Plus, the backup QBs in Indy aren't exactly scrubs -- Jacoby Brissett (who's now technically a free agent) has flashed real potential and Jacob Eason (the Colts 4th-round pick in 2020) could become a real contender for a starting spot as well.

Remember, at one point Wentz -- the 2nd overall pick in the 2016 Draft -- was an NFL MVP candidate ... and the Eagles liked him so much, they signed him to a 4-year, $128 million contract in 2019.

Now, Jalen Hurts will have a real shot to compete for the starting job in Philly -- though there are rumblings the Eagles are looking to draft a top-flight QB in April.

Even the best football player alive can't believe what the Eagles did Sunday night ... with Patrick Mahomes saying he was straight-up perplexed by Philly's apparent tank job against the WFT.

The K.C. Chiefs QB explained his feelings on the matter to KCSP 610 Sports Radio on Monday ... saying when Doug Pederson pulled Jalen Hurts from a winnable game, he just didn't get why.

"You never know what's going on inside the team or the organization," Mahomes said, "but, I mean, just watching how he played the last few weeks, it did kinda confuse me at the time."

Mahomes made it clear he would've wanted Jalen to play the final 4th quarter of the season ... even if it meant it could cost the Eagles a few spots in the 2021 NFL Draft.

"For me, I would have wanted to play and finish out the season, no matter what our record was," Mahomes said. "But, whatever the coach thought was best for the team, he did, and you have to back that as a guy on the team."

For Pederson's part, he's adamantly claimed he was trying to win the game despite the Hurts benching.

There's more ... Mahomes also raved about Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, praising the coach as a "vital" piece of K.C.'s puzzle and promising he'll be a successful head man if he gets the opportunity.

"He's a guy that will hold everybody in the organization accountable, he's going to build the culture the right way and obviously he knows how to call the plays and do that stuff and produce on the field. There's no real negative about it."

The New York Giants are PISSED the Eagles kept them out of the playoffs with an apparent tank job Sunday night ... with one NYG star straight-up callin' Philly's actions "sickening."

Here's the deal ... after NY beat the Dallas Cowboys Sunday morning, all they needed was a Philadelphia win over the Washington Football Team to lock up a postseason spot.

But, the Eagles didn't appear to take their game with WFT seriously at all ... they rested nearly every one of their star players -- and even benched QB Jalen Hurts before the pivotal 4th quarter even began.

In fact, Philly's actions were so perplexing -- the guys calling the game for NBC, Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, questioned head coach Doug Pederson on-air!!

"Al, I couldn’t have done it," Collinsworth said on the broadcast. "I couldn’t have done what Philadelphia did."

"I simply just could not have done it. You’ve got men out there that are fighting their guts out trying to win the game. And, I’m not saying -- I’m not blaming anybody. I, personally, could not have done what they did."

Philly ended up losing a very winnable game, 20-14 ... and while the scene was playing out, the Giants were HEATED.

Receiver Darius Slayton said on Twitter, "Why on gods green earth is Jalen Hurts not in the game." He later wrote, "This is sickening."

Star running back Saquon Barkley added, "Can someone make it make sense to me what’s going on....?"

Both Golden Tate and Eli Manning responded to that ... with Manning writing, "This is why we don’t like the Eagles."

For his part, Pederson said he actually was trying to win the game, telling media after the loss, "Yes, I was coaching to win."

Sure, Doug. Sure.

Sorry, New York.

Seems everyone in Philly is ready to anoint Jalen Hurts the next starting QB of the Eagles ... except the one guy who matters.

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson says he still needs to "take a look" at the game film before making a decision -- despite the fact Hurts led the Birds to a 24 to 21 win over the 1st place New Orleans Saints in his very first NFL start.

Hurts was 17 for 30 with 167 yards, a TD and most importantly ZERO interceptions in the victory ... not bad against one of the best defenses in the league!

But, when asked Monday morning if Hurts will be QB1 next week instead of Carson Wentz, Pederson wouldn't commit.

"I'm gonna take a look at yesterday," Pederson told SportsRadio "94WIP" ... "I'm gonna look at a lot of different things before I make that determination this week."

What? Why? Hurts plays great! Carson Wentz has been struggling like crazy. Seems like an obvious move to most people.

Pederson was complimentary when asked about Jalen's performance ... saying "There was some really, really good plays. He played well. He managed the team, he did everything we asked him to do."

"He played smart, he played physical with the run. Some of it was designed run, some of it was just him being him and what he can do. It's gonna be a really good film for him to look at and learn from and get better but I thought he did a really nice job."

So, start him!

Carson Wentz's time as the starter in Philly should be over -- at least for now -- so says Asante Samuel, who tells TMZ Sports the Eagles should play Jalen Hurts!

"If it was my decision," the former Philly defensive back said, "I think I'd go with the rookie."

Wentz has devolved this year into one of the NFL's worst quarterbacks ... he leads the league in interceptions with 15 and has the Eagles underperforming at just 3-8-1.

But, head coach Doug Pederson has been non-committal about sitting the QB in favor of Hurts (their second-round pick) ... and Samuel tells us he thinks that's a mistake.

The ex-Eagles star says a QB swap could inject some life -- and wins -- into a team that still has a very good shot at winning the NFC East crown.

"It's all about the W," Samuel says. "It's all about winning. It's all about production. If we have to bite a big cap loss, give away a lot of money and we think we got to move forward to make our team better, that's what I think you definitely have to do."

Pederson DID make the switch from Wentz to Hurts late in the Eagles' loss to the Packers on Sunday ... and Hurts seemed to be comfortable under center, throwing for 1 TD and 1 INT and rushing for 29 yards.

It remains unclear if Wentz will get the reins back this Sunday against the New Orleans Saints ... but, if it were up to Samuel, he's making it clear the decision would've already been made.

TMZ Sports has obtained more video from the night Dallas Goedert was knocked out inside a South Dakota bar ... and the new footage shows the NFLer got in a patron's face before the attack.

In the clip, you can see Goedert -- wearing a black shirt and holding a drink -- puts his finger on a man's chest, walks him backward and then gets nose-to-nose with him.

Seconds later, Goedert puts his hand on the man again and appears to push him backward ... and that's when the 25-year-old tight end got violently rocked in the face by another man.

However, our Goedert sources are adamant the TE was simply trying to play peacemaker before he was KO'd.

As we previously reported, the whole scene went down on June 19 at Zoo Bar in Aberdeen, SD ... and Goedert had to go to the hospital due to injuries he suffered in the skirmish.

Fortunately for the Eagles tight end, he was NOT seriously hurt in the altercation.

But, 30-year-old Kyle Hadala was arrested and charged over the punch ... ultimately getting hit with a simple assault charge for throwing the haymaker.

Hadala has pled not guilty to the charge ... and has fought the case heavily in court -- arguing he only threw the punch because he was just trying to defend his friend.

"They picked out my smaller colleague from the group, got in his face, and made very threatening remarks toward his personal well-being," Hadala told TMZ Sports back in July.

"Then one of his crew told my other colleague, and I quote, 'You’re just a fat f**king pussy. I'll beat the s*** out of you.'"

Hadala is due in court Wednesday for a bench trial in the case ... and we're told he's hoping the video from the bar helps him beat the case.

Brett Favre says the Eagles' woes since winning the Super Bowl in 2018 can be explained pretty simply -- they screwed up the Carson Wentz vs. Nick Foles decision.

You'll recall ... back in the '17 season, Wentz had Philly rollin' -- he led the Birds to an 11-2 start -- but he had to sit the bench the rest of the way due to an ACL injury.

Foles went on to lead the team to a title over Tom Brady's Patriots in Wentz' stead ... but the Eagles decided to turn back to Carson when he was healthy the following season nonetheless.

And, when it came time to either pay Foles to keep him around or let him walk after the 2018 season ... Philly chose to punt -- and now, Favre says that was a decision that doomed the franchise.

"I actually thought that they should have kept Nick Foles rather than Carson Wentz just based off of production and where they got to," Favre said on ESPN's "First Take" on Tuesday.

"You know, they won a Super Bowl with Foles. And, that was a little bit surprising."

Foles hasn't done much of anything since he left the Eagles for Jacksonville ... he had an injury-plagued season with the Jags in 2019 and now he's sputtering with the Bears this year.

But, Wentz hasn't been much better ... the Eagles were 9-7 in 2019 and are just 3-4-1 this year -- AND Wentz leads the league in interceptions this season with 12.

Favre says injuries to the QB's weapons have played some role in Wentz's struggles ... but he explained Carson should be just flat-out better regardless.

How far will one fan go to support his Philadelphia Eagles??

How about spending his LIFE SAVINGS to come up with the most badass at-home game day setup -- complete with a full bar!!

Die-hard fan Barry "The Hatchet" Vagnoni opened the doors to his incredible Eagles shrine in Reading, PA for the upcoming doc, "Maybe Next Year" ... which follows Philly fans during the 2017 Super Bowl run.

73-year-old Vagnoni says in the doc (set to release on Nov. 10) he got his inspiration to come up with the perfect viewing experience after watching the movie, "Field of Dreams" ... essentially saying if he builds an outlandish sanctuary, Eagles fans will come.

So, that's exactly what he did -- convincing his wife to spend their savings to make an addition to their home for friends and fam on game day -- and it's WILD.

The place is decked out from floor to roof in Eagles decor and can seat a BUNCH of people.

"The passion for the Eagles came from my dad -- he loved the Philadelphia Eagles," Barry tells us. "He wasn't over the top like I am. I've grown into a coo-coo."

Fly, fists, fly??

Here's video of Eagles fans throwing violent haymakers at each other while breaking every COVID-19 protocol in the book during Philly's loss to Baltimore on Sunday.

Unclear what prompted the massive brawl in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly ... but the fight was INSANE.

A man in a Carson Wentz jersey climbed down about 10 rows of seats to get to another man ... and he let the punches go as soon as he got in striking range.

The two traded blows for a few seconds ... when suddenly ANOTHER man came into the melee and started throwing bombs of his own!

Other fans were eventually able to break up the scrum ... and, fortunately, despite the violence, nobody appeared to be too injured.

The Eagles had JUST been given the green light to allow a very limited number of people to attend Sunday's game ... and protocols stated fans were supposed to stay in their pods, wear masks and social distance at all times.

But, Philly is gonna Philly ... even in a pandemic. Let's just be happy no police horses were punched in the face this time.

Class move from the biggest Philadelphia Eagles fan there is ...

12-year-old Giovanni Hamilton was so sad about the injury to Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, he shot a get-well message that'll hit you right in the feels.

Hamilton's story is pretty well known ... the way he's battled through 12 surgeries related to Schwartz-Jampel syndrome has inspired Eagles players like Carson Wentz and others.

Gio's condition has been described by his mom as a combo of muscular dystrophy and dwarfism. He's undergone surgical procedures on his hips, eyes, jaw and more.

So, when Gio -- who's an Eagles fan to the core -- found out about Dak's ankle, he fired up his camera Sunday to make a video for the injured QB.

"I just heard that Dak Prescott got hurt and you know, it sucks," Gio said.

"I’m the biggest eagles fan there is and you never wanna see that happen."

Gio added, "Even if it’s your most hated team, you never want to see that happen to anyone -- and you know Dak, I hope you see this, Brother, I hope you’re doing okay. I’ve been through a lot of pain but I can't even imagine. That looked like it really hurt."

Philly Eagles cornerback Cre'Von LeBlanc says he's started a rap career to help his brother's dream come true ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to give him a platform after he gets out of prison.

26-year-old LeBlanc -- AKA "Strap" -- says what started as a hobby has now turned into something greater ... as he hopes to help his brother who is currently incarcerated.

"I know his passion that he has behind music and I just try to keep it going for him," LeBlanc says. "Because it's hard when you're a felon and you come home and it's hard to get a job, it's hard to do anything."

FYI -- LeBlanc's brother, Craig Jr., is serving a life sentence in a Florida prison after being convicted of attempted murder ... but Cre'Von hopes to reunite with him someday.

Cre'Von explains ... "So, I definitely want to build up the music side up for him. I know that his dream, aspiration and goals and just have something set in stone so when he comes home, he has something to come home to."

LeBlanc says the reaction he's gotten from friends, family and even strangers has been overly positive ... with everyone encouraging him to release more tracks.

Ya gotta love the effort!!

Here's Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Malik Jackson straight-up CHEATING during a 4th quarter goal-line stand ... and it's actually pretty impressive!

The 49ers were trying to mount a miraculous comeback in the final 2 minutes of Sunday night's game ... and had just moved the ball right to the Eagles goal line.

Right after the refs had spotted the ball inches from the end zone -- Jackson used his foot to secretly nudge the ball back about half a yard, which is HUGE in that situation!

And, the funniest part ... HE DIDN'T GET CAUGHT!!

Unfortunately for Jackson, the 49ers handed the ball off to Jerick McKinnon on the next play ... and the running back scored anyway -- but still, funny stuff!

In the end, the Eagles ended up winning the game 25 to 20 ... and Jackson has become a viral sensation on social media.

A trial date has finally been set in the Dallas Goedert bar fight case ... months after the Philadelphia Eagles tight end was knocked out in an incident caught on video.

Goedert was socked in the face during a June 20 altercation at a South Dakota bar ... after getting into it with another group.

The man who was arrested and charged for punching Goedert, 30-year-old Kyle Hadala, got hit with a simple assault charge ... and faces jail time if convicted.

Goedert -- who was hospitalized for injuries sustained during the incident -- was neither arrested nor charged with a crime.

In fact, he healed up in time for the NFL season ... only to suffer a broken ankle in Week 3 and hit injured reserve. Tough year.

So here's what's next ... a pre-trial hearing for Hadala is set for Nov. 2 -- where prosecutors will likely try to hammer out a plea deal.

If no deal is made, a trial date has been set for Nov. 18.

As we previously reported, Hadala says he was protecting his friends -- and plans to fight the charge.