Following the emergence of Trey McBride, fellow tight end Zach Ertz has requested and has been granted his release from the Arizona Cardinals, former teammate JJ Watt first reported on Thursday.
Ertz, 33, will now be subject to the NFL’s waiver wire. The Broncos are currently 19th in the waiver wire order, but some of the league’s top contenders such as the San Francisco 49ers (29), Baltimore Ravens (31) and Philadelphia Eagles (32) are below Denver.
If a team claims Ertz off waivers, that club will owe his remaining $2.5 million salary. The Broncos have an estimated $1.44 million in salary cap space, according to OverTheCap.com, so the team would have to do some cap reshuffling in order to make a potential claim work.
If he goes unclaimed on waivers, Ertz would become a free agent, eligible to sign with any team, and he would presumably prefer a Super Bowl contender.
Fans and pundits in Denver had mixed opinions on the Broncos potentially pursuing Ertz.