What is Zach Ertz’s Future with the Eagles?
For three straight years, Zach Ertz has been nominated to a Pro Bowl.
He broke the franchise record for single-season receptions by any receiver and yards by a tight end and broke the NFL record for receptions by a TE.
He’s been labeled Carson Wentz’s security blanket since the quarterback came into the league, and for good reason; out of Wentz’s 1,335 career completions, a whopping 308 have gone to Ertz, including 24 touchdowns.
So, it would make sense to retain the most consistent receiver on the team since 2016 right?
The front office doesn’t seem to think so.
Exactly two weeks ago, Ian Rapoport tweeted that contract talks between the Eagles and Ertz came to an ‘abrupt halt’ after the team offered less guaranteed money than they did in their previous contract negotiation last November. Leading up to the game day last week, Ertz stated that he wanted to remain in Philadelphia for the rest of his career but said he didn’t feel as though the team felt the same.
Then, just hours before kickoff last Sunday, it was reported that Howie Roseman and Ertz had a ‘heated’ discussion regarding the tight end’s contract. If the Eagles were trying to negotiate with Ertz in good faith, they did not do a good job of it.
Photo: Kate Frese/PhillyVoice
Ertz’s body language in week 1’s loss to the Washington Football Team suggested that he did not want to be there. For a guy that averaged close to six receptions all of last year, he only had three catches on Sunday, along with a crucial drop on 4th down late in the game.
There is good reason why the team may not want to invest in a brand new contract for the 29, soon to be 30-year-old though; the Eagles are in a unique position with a TE high of potential sitting right behind Ertz in Dallas Goedert. After a decent rookie year, Goedert had himself a starting TE caliber season last year, totaling 58 catches for 607 yards and 5 TDs.
Then last week, he had a career game, with his first career 100-yard performance along with a TD. To the Eagles, it may seem as though losing Ertz would not be such a big deal with a talent like Goedert waiting in the wings. In fact, blocking and yards after catch wise, Goedert excels in both, two aspects that Ertz has severely lacked his entire career.
Even with Goedert, losing Ertz would be a tremendous loss to the Eagles. Ertz’s chemistry with Wentz has been incomparable to any other player on the team, and if the Eagles truly care about investing in their franchise QB, they would know that this is a loss they cannot afford.
Not to mention the fact that this offense is notorious for running plays out of 12 personnel.
Having two elite tight ends on the team would continue to assure that they could run their 2 tight end sets without hesitation.
Unfortunately, with all of the damage the front office has done to their relationship with Ertz, this is going to be a hard hole to climb out of.
The team needs to act fast and retain one of the most pivotal players in franchise history, or we may be counting our days until Ertz hits the market and leaves.
Don’t be surprised at all, however, if the Eagles put Ertz on the trade block, or even push the button to ship him out by the trade deadline.
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