Eagles
Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Zach Ertz is back. And if he can still perform at an NFL level, he’s back at the perfect time. Dallas Goedert is on injured reserve for the foreseeable future. Eli Stowers has yet to make his NFL debut. Johnny Mundt is on the roster for his excellent blocking, not to catch the ball. Without Ertz, the Eagles have no receiving threat at tight end.
Dallas Goedert signals to fans during pregame warmups in Week 2Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
A Dallas Goedert injury isn’t out of the ordinary. The star pass-catcher hasn’t played a full season since his rookie campaign in 2018. What is unexpected, however, is that Eli Stowers, the Eagles’ second round pick from last April’s draft, is not ready to fill in. The 23-year-old rookie picked up a hamstring injury during the preseason, and it doesn’t look like he’s coming back anytime soon. Zach Ertz is the most necessary 35-year-old tight end free agent pickup for a team in the NFL’s recent memory, and he will perform like it.
Can he still get the job done?
Eagles fans obviously shouldn’t expect Zach Ertz to pick up right where he left off in 2021 with the team before being traded to the Arizona Cardinals, but they can expect the veteran to be impactful in Goedert’s absence. Even after missing the final four games of the season with a torn ACL, Zach Ertz finished second on the Washington Commanders’ statsheet in both receptions and touchdowns last season. Ertz is among the top ten tight ends in NFL history in receiving yards, and he’s likely to breach the top seven even if he only has a small impact in the Eagles’ offense.
Obviously, a torn ACL for a 35-year-old tight end is most likely a career-ending injury. But Zach Ertz is no ordinary 35-year-old tight end. He’s battled an extensive injury history in his thirties, and actually improved his production in the process.
Zach Ertz leaves his final game with the Commanders due to a torn ACLCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
In 2022, while playing for the Arizona Cardinals, Zach Ertz tore his MCL. That could have finished his NFL journey on the spot, but he fought through. Instead of hanging up his cleats and ending his successful career there, Ertz had more to give to the league. He recovered and played in week one the following season.
During a grueling 2023 season for Arizona, Ertz was released. The Cardinals, in need of a rebuild, featured their young star Trey McBride rather than the veteran Ertz. Still having more to give to the NFL, he signed with the Detroit Lions’ practice squad with the hope of contributing to their Super Bowl run. Detroit was shocked by a 17-point-comeback by the 49ers in the NFC Championship game, and Zach Ertz was bounced from the playoffs without even touching the field.
Ertz was never going to go out like that. He signed with the Commanders that offseason. Washington was in desperate need of receiving help for their second-overall-pick quarterback, Jayden Daniels. Luckily for them, Zach Ertz was ready for more NFL action.
The Commanders set the NFL on fire. Jayden Daniels won Offensive Rookie of the Year. The team upset one-seeded Detroit on the road. They played their way to the NFC Championship in year one of a rebuild. Zach Ertz was right at the center of their offense. He played all seventeen games. He caught sixty-six passes. He scored seven touchdowns. It wasn’t a comeback year; Ertz showed that he never lost it.
Zach Ertz catches a touchdown pass in Detroit during the 2024-25 Divisional RoundCredit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
An NFL fan having any doubt about Zach Ertz’s ability to get the job done just shows that they aren’t aware just how incredible Ertz’s journey has been. He has battled through so much adversity just to get to his point in his career; he won’t fumble his golden opportunity back with his football home in Philadelphia.
A Look at Other NFL Veteran Fill-In Tight Ends
The tight end position doesn’t change much, at least in terms of the big names. Sure, Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, and Sam LaPorta have entered the scene, but Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Mark Andrews are still getting the job done.
The NFL has seen plenty of recent examples where a veteran tight end has filled in for a team in need and subsequently added another level to its offense:
Rob Gronkowski
Gronk wasn’t nearly as old as Zach Ertz is now when he came out of retirement for Tampa Bay, but he did have an injury history that was similar in length, if not longer. Nevertheless, Gronkowski was vital in Tampa’s playoff runs in 2020 and 2021 before calling it quits a second time.
Jimmy Graham
In his final NFL season, Jimmy Graham was even older than Zach Ertz is now, and Graham still became the most reliable redzone option for the New Orleans Saints. While Graham had the better counting stats of the two, his receiving talent is very comparable to Ertz. At the very least, Ertz can be an excellent redzone weapon for the Eagles like Graham was for the Saints in his final year.
Darren Waller
Waller is the perfect example. Similar receiving talent, similar age, and similar situation to Ertz. In Waller’s twelve games since coming out of retirement, he’s scored eight touchdowns. Darren Waller retired in the process, Zach Ertz didn’t. Ertz is the receiver with the more illustrious career who has consistently found his way onto NFL rosters. If Waller can do it, why can’t Ertz?
Darren Waller scores one of his six touchdowns with the Miami DolphinsCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Tight end can be a plug-and-play position in the NFL, especially when the player who’s being plugged in has the skills to do thrive.
And there was never any doubt that Zach Ertz has the skills to thrive.
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I’m a high school student from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and an aspiring sports media professional. I may have only recently … More about Jonah Casel
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