Entering Thursday on the Cardinals’ injured reserve, Zach Ertz will see his three-season tenure with the team come to a surprising end. The veteran tight end asked for his release, and CBS Sports’ J.J. Watt reports the Cardinals will grant the request.
A two-year Ertz Cardinals teammate, Watt indicates the 11th-year pass catcher hopes to sign with a contender. The Cardinals had given Ertz a three-year, $31.65MM deal in 2022, but the Steve Keim regime authorized that pact. GM Monti Ossenfort will sign off on a separation. The Cardinals have since announced the move.
Although Ertz is a vested veteran, the trade deadline passing mandates he must clear waivers before becoming a free agent. Though, given his quad injury and $8.8MM salary, he would stand to have a decent chance of reaching free agency once again. Ertz, 33, has missed the past five games due to the quad issue. The Cardinals designated guard Elijah Wilkinson for return this week, but Ertz remained on IR. It is unclear if he is ready to return, but now that he is off Arizona’s IR, teams will be able to check on this matter.
A team considering an Ertz claim would be responsible for just more than $2.5MM in remaining base salary. Teams can certainly afford this claim, and Ertz’s productive past should at least prompt some to consider it. Ertz is due a $7.96MM base salary in 2024, but that amount is nonguaranteed. But the accomplished tight end has missed significant time in each of the past two seasons.
The Cardinals will be hit with a few million in dead money, but the team has shifted to a rebuilding direction since hiring Ossenfort. In exchange for this release, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds Ertz agreed to give up a game check. He earns more than $517K per game.
Since re-signing Ertz, the Cardinals chose Trey McBride in the 2022 second round. The Colorado State product has shown improvement during his stretch of full-time usage, which came about because of Ertz’s October injury. McBride has 48 receptions for 521 yards. Since moving to Arizona in 1988, the Cardinals have struggled for decades to find tight end production. Illustrating this, McBride — who has only started seven games this season — is 53 yards from breaking the franchise’s Arizona-years record for receiving yards in a season by a tight end.
Ertz holds that modest mark presently, but it came during an abbreviated 2021 season — one that saw the Eagles send the former Pro Bowler to the Cardinals. Ertz rolled to 574 yards in 11 Cards games that year, helping the NFC West franchise snap a playoff drought. The Cardinals sent the Eagles a fifth-round pick and cornerback Tay Gowan for Ertz in October 2021, and the partnership paid off for both parties for a bit. But Ertz suffered a season-ending knee injury last year, missing a messy stretch run that ended with Kyler Murray tearing an ACL and the Keim-Kliff Kingsbury duo dismissed. In seven games this season, Ertz totaled just 187 yards (a career-low 6.9 per catch).
While Ertz recovered in time for Week 1, the Cardinals had made major changes during his rehab odyssey. Watt retired, and veterans Zach Allen, Byron Murphy and Markus Golden ventured elsewhere this offseason. After trying to trade DeAndre Hopkins for weeks, the Cardinals moved on via release in May. James Conner and Marquise Brown remain as veteran skill-position presences under Jonathan Gannon, but the Cards are in a clear rebuild mode.
Prior to being traded two years ago, Ertz had angled for an Eagles raise. The Eagles balked and then extended Dallas Goedert. Ertz ended up getting his money in Arizona and has signed two lucrative deals over the course of his career. Ertz made the Pro Bowl from 2017-19, eclipsing 800 yards in five straight seasons (2015-19) and topping out with a 1,163-yard 2018 showing.
The Ravens would seemingly profile as an interested party, having lost Mark Andrews to what is likely a season-ending ankle injury. The Broncos have placed Greg Dulcich on IR four times over his first two seasons; they have not designated their top receiving TE for return yet. The Dolphins did not re-sign Mike Gesicki this offseason. A Stanford product, Ertz also grew up in the Bay Area. The 49ers’ George Kittle employment notwithstanding, they lead the NFL in cap space.
As far as familiarity goes, Doug Pederson coached Ertz from 2016-20, while Shane Steichen was the Eagles’ OC during the tight end’s partial 2021 season in Philly. Though, Pederson’s Jaguars are well situated at tight end after the Evan Engram extension. Would a return to the Eagles make sense? Goedert is on his way back from his forearm fracture, but he has missed time in each of the past two years. The Eagles do not have a viable backup, either.
49ers need to sign this guy. They’ve been looking for a good 2nd TE for a while. Kyle would love to roll out a good two TE set with Ertz and Kittle. I know he’s hurt right now but sign him and let him get better, start getting him some play time down the stretch right in time for the playoffs.
Idk, I don’t think they’ll gi after Ertz honestly.
Woerner has been playing some of his best football he’s ever played, and he’s really stepped up lately.
Woerner isn’t the receiving threat that Ertz is, but he’s one of the best blocking TEs in the league.
That’s one of the reasons their running game is so successful. When they have Big Trent Williams, Kittle, Juice, and Woerner it is EXTREMELY difficult to counter all that size and blocking prowess. Given, they aren’t all typically on the field at the same time, but that’s also what makes their running game so dangerous. They can come at you in a wide variety of packages, and Woerner provides Kittle and/or Juice a break without much fall off at all.
His last game Woerner was their highest graded offensive player, and he only caught one ball. That speaks volumes to the impact he’s able to have without having to be targeted multiple times in a game.
Woerner and Dwelley have taken care of the backup TE chores decently for the Niners…..they keep resigning Dwelley each year…..
Packers should put a claim in
i second that
Why? I thought the idea was to improve talent, or take a flier on young players who might improve, not an aging player who has the 1 issue they already have way too much of throughout the roster-injuries.
Nah, the packers have good enough young TEs
A reunion with the Eagles makes a ton of sense. Especially with Goedert currently injured
Seems like a no-brainer if he isn’t looking for Top Dollar.
They can claim him off waivers. 2.5million left this year.
I think the same thing. I can not see him going anywhere except for the Eagles.
Well, I lied, the only other place I could maybe see him going to is Baltimore, with Andrews having gotten hurt and what-not.
Yep, but unless PHI doesn’t want him or there is bad blood there for some reason why would you go somewhere new?
I can’t imagine BAL can offer much more money.
No bad blood at all, he was traded to a team that was good at the time of the trade and because his role was getting smaller with the progress of Goedert.
Broncos would be a good fit.
Keep walking Howie, nothing to see here. Now is not the time to get nostalgic.
It would only be to fill in the rest of the year and if he ‘s healthy and clears waivers the cost would probably be minimal. It’s not like we’ve gotten any TE production other than Godeart and he’s not coming back yet. Low risk, decent reward.
Watch the Bengals, Bills, Buc’s. Giants, or Titans put in a claim on him. Broncos are a team on the rise.
Do it just to keep him from going to Miami, KC, Baltimore, Philly, or San Fran.
Landing spots for him: Lions Packers Titans Saints Broncos Jets
Lions could use a TE3 who’s a veteran
Eagles make most sense
Not really. Goddert is almost healthy
I don’t really want Ertz back on the Eagles. Not for that money. Whatever cap space they have should be devoted to LB. The Eagles don’t even use the TE or Backs as check-downs, at least not enough to make it worthwhile. Jalen isn’t going to throw to Ertz for 6 yards, like Carson used to in the past. He just doesn’t do that. Ertz would be less than useless.
It ‘Ertz’ to say goodbye .
If Ertz is still around in six years, the Bears will consider him the perfect replacement for Marcedes Lewis.
I hope the bears sign just because it increases the chances his wife will sign with the Red Stars