Getty Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles
When Zach Ertz dropped a key fourth-down catch late in the final quarter, he looked visibly upset and unusually frustrated.
The Pro Bowl tight end had a chance to extend the game, but it slipped right through his fingers. Out of his grasp, uncharacteristically, out of time. Of course, blaming Ertz for the Eagles’ Week 1 debacle in Washington would be extremely unfair. He wasn’t overthrowing receivers or sitting back in the pocket with no sense of urgency. That was Carson Wentz. But considering the increasing drama buzzing around Ertz and his future in Philly … well, it was another brick in the wall.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson certainly took a note of it and explained how he could continue to “motivate” Ertz after a maddening season opener. Remember, the nine-year veteran — 107 regular-season games, all in midnight green — was interestingly not named a team captain for 2020.
“It’s like, you know, I equate it sometimes when a quarterback throws an interception,” Pederson said of Ertz’s curious drop. “The best thing to do is get right back out there and throw the ball again, right and so for guys like that, even though Zach was at the end of the game, you want to get back out there and throw him another pass, somewhere, somehow, so he can get that feel back. But just encourage him, you know. We’ve got a lot of football left ahead of us and he’s going to make more big plays for us than just that one, that one play.”
Welp. The Eagles Zoom calls did not include Zach Ertz, whose drop might have been pivotal, any of the young o-linemen, or any of the wideouts. Tough road loss, but in an open locker room, u get their stories. Don’t recall Ertz ever not being available
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Ertz Mentioned in Multiple Trade Rumors
The trade winds are strongly blowing following reports of a “heated argument” between Ertz and Eagles GM Howie Roseman. Contract talks have come to a halt in Philly and there are several franchises in need of a game-changing tight end, including one hated divisional rival.
ESPN Insider Mike Tannenbaum presented a scenario where Ertz gets sent packing to Dallas in exchange for Cowboys guard Zack Martin. There is a need there after Dallas lost starting tight end Blake Jarwin with a season-ending knee injury. Ertz’s price tag combined with Martin being arguably the best guard in football doesn’t make a ton of sense, per Sports Illustrated’s Anthony Wood.
While it’s rare & highly unusual for trades among rivals; given the recent developments of injuries to Blake Jarwin and Philly’s OL (Brooks, Dillard & Johnson) & Ertz’s apparent contract issues (along with Goedert’s development) a Zach Martin for Ertz trade would help both teams.
Does Tannenbaum have any insider knowledge? Maybe. He covers front-office musings and worked as an executive for both the Jets and Dolphins. Meanwhile, Ertz’s name popped up on the radars of both the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots as potential trading partners. The Colts will be without former Eagles tight end Trey Burton for at least a few weeks and Indianapolis has cap space, around $12.77 million, per Spotrac.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson on TE Zach Ertz’ contract frustrations: “I just hope we can put all that behind us and move on to football.”
The Patriots? They are in an even better spot to take on an Ertz extension with $31 million in cap space (increases to $74 million in 2021). Plus, New England has never been shy about parting with high draft picks, as evidenced by them dealing a second-rounder for one-year rental Mohamed Sanu in 2019. The team cut him this year after training camp. Just food for thought.
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