Cardinals release Zach Ertz — is a reunion possible?
Philadelphia Eagles/Hunter Martin
An all-time Eagle and one of the best over the past decade has just been made available.
Zach Ertz has requested and been granted his release by the Arizona Cardinals and is hoping to sign with a contender, according to former teammate J.J. Watt. Ertz spent his first 8 1/2 seasons with the Eagles and caught 579 passes which is the second-most ever by an Eagle, and 709 career receptions, the eighth-most in NFL history by a tight end.
The Eagles traded Ertz to the Cardinals for cornerback Tay Gowan and a 5th-round pick six games into the 2021 season.
Ertz caught 130 passes for 1,167 yards and eight touchdowns in 28 games for Arizona. He has not played since Week 7 because of a quad injury. In seven games this year before he got hurt, he had a measly 27 catches for 187 yards and one touchdown.
With the Eagles, Ertz was a record-setting tight end and a Super Bowl hero. He caught 579 passes for 6,267 yards and 38 touchdowns as an Eagle and made the Pro Bowl in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In 2018, he set an NFL record for tight ends with 116 receptions. In Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis, with 2:25 remaining, Ertz caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nick Foles to ultimately win the game and their first-ever Super Bowl.
Ertz turned 33 last week and if he clears waivers, his current contract with the Cardinals (a three-year, $31.65 million deal signed in March of 2022) will vanish. Ertz is owed about $4.4 million for the rest of this season and carries a $7.96 million base salary in 2024.
When traded to the desert, Ertz said he would love to return to the Eagles one day and make a run at Harold Carmichael’s Eagles receptions record. Is this possible? The door into the Eagles’ tight end room right now is open. Dallas Goedert is still recovering from a fracture in his arm and did not practice on Wednesday, Grant Calcaterra missed practice with an ankle injury, and Calcaterra and Stoll have a combined four catches for 27 yards this year.
Should the Eagles bring Ertz back, assuming he clears waivers? I do not see why not. It will help with the short-term tight end issue, and bringing back a franchise legend for a Super Bowl run and what may be his last dance is fun.
