Tag: Zach Ertz contract

Should the Cardinals re-sign TE Zach Ertz?

Tight end Zach Ertz is set to become a free agent. He’s one the Cardinals cannot afford to lose.

The Cardinals were riding an undefeated high when they opted to double down in a trade that sent Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz to Phoenix. The team had lost the emerging Maxx Williams to a torn ACL in Week 5 and had a large void at the position.

While the loss of Williams was still felt in both the locker room and rushing attack, the arrival of Ertz took the passing game to new heights. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the core of quarterback Kyler Murray, receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and Ertz were hardly together on the field all at once.

In only eleven games played with the team, Ertz tied the franchise record for receptions by a tight end, cementing his name with the great Jackie Smith back in 1967. He also had 574 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

Ertz quickly became close with Kyler Murray and didn’t take long to thrive in the offense. He was instrumental when Colt McCoy had to step in without DeAndre Hopkins at his disposal. Quite frankly, the Cardinals have never had a tight end as good as Ertz since moving to Arizona.

The Cardinals sent a fifth-round pick and rookie cornerback Tay Gowan in exchange for Ertz, who was on an expiring contract and will be an unrestricted free agent in about two weeks’ time. With that in mind, should the Cardinals extend Ertz, even with many other pressing needs at hand?

The short, and only answer, is yes.

The tight end position has been neglected by the organization for a very long time. When Hopkins went down, Ertz was the only skill player to maintain his high level of play. Others faded while Ertz remained consistent.

Spotrac has Ertz’s estimated annual salary at $7.6 million. A few similar contracts are that of Kyle Rudolph (two years, $12 million) and Rob Gronkowski (one year, $8 million). His contract would be very affordable for the Cardinals and his impact goes far beyond the statistics he puts up on the field. He is a safety net for Kyler Murray when plays break down. There is no reason for the Cardinals to let him walk.

It’s worth noting that following the midseason trade for Markus Golden in 2020, Steve Keim opted to re-sign him just prior to the start of free agency. The Cardinals also placed the transition tag on 2019 midseason acquisition Kenyan Drake. Historically, Keim and company have been in the business of extending players they acquire in trades.

Ertz himself has been very adamant that he would like to remain in Arizona.  Cameron Cox of 12 News recently caught up with him, and the answer remained the same.

“I think I’ve made it very clear that I would like to be back in Arizona,” he said. “But at the end of the day, there’s a lot of things that are out of my control.”

Especially with incoming re-shuffle of the Cardinals’ skill position players, some stability would be very welcome for the 2022 season.

Re-sign Zach Ertz.

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Frustrated Zach Ertz is approaching this season like it’s his last with the Eagles

Zach Ertz says he frustrated about not getting a new contract

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The Philadelphia Eagles are just days from the kickoff to their 2020 season and the best tight end in franchise history isn’t feeling the love. During a zoom meeting with the media on Thursday, Ertz visibly voiced his frustration over a lack of a contract extension after the 49ers and Chiefs locked up George Kittle and Travis Kelce to mega-deals.

On Thursday Ertz made it clear that he wants to retire as an Eagle, but he’s “frustrated” and approaching this season as if it’s “his last” in Philadelphia from a contract point of view.

Ertz finished the last season third among tight ends in receptions (88), fourth in yards (916), and tied for fourth in touchdowns (6).

During the past three seasons, Ertz ranks third in receptions (278), third in yards (2,903), and second in touchdowns (22). That normally would make the case for Ertz to get a similar deal to his two counterparts, but Kittle is younger and more dynamic. The Eagles also have the pressure of extending two top-10 tight ends, with Dallas Goedert also needing a new deal at some point.
Ertz reportedly turned down a deal that would have paid him $10.5 million per year with two years left on his current deal.

Ertz, 29, currently is set to make $6.6 million in 2020 and $8.25 million in 2021, before becoming an unrestricted free-agent in 2022, but the Eagles could release the star tight end and move on at no cost.

Ertz’s legacy puts pressure on the Eagles as a guy who’ll be the franchise’s all-time receptions leader this season, a possible Hall of Famer, and the player who caught the game-winning score in their first-ever Super Bowl. That would usually give a player the benefit of the doubt in regards to a team wanting him to retire in an Eagles uniform.

The Eagles can let 2020 play out and see where Ertz stands physically after turning 30 years of age, or they can strike now and lock up both of their star tight ends using the leverage of legacy and playing for one team to help get a hometown discount from Ertz.

What they can’t do is let the franchise’s all-time reception leader spend the 2020 NFL season feeling unloved.

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