Getty Zach Ertz runs after a catch in a game against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Buffalo Bills may not be as close to landing Zach Ertz as one Philadelphia Eagles insider seemed to imply this week.
Ertz has reportedly grown dismayed with the organization and asked for a trade, with the Bills pegged as one of the most likely trade partners. A report this week seemed to hint that a deal was close to coming to fruition, but the Eagles insider behind the speculation is now walking back those comments and offering more clarity on the situation.
The latest Bills news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Bills newsletter here!
Trade Not Certain
After months of speculation that the Bills could boost their tight end position by trading for Ertz, a report emerged that made a deal appear imminent. Merrill Reese, the longtime play-by-play man for the Eagles, said this week that the two teams are close to making a deal that would send the 30-year-old tight end to the Bills. Appearing on The National Football Show, Reese told host Dan Sileo that he believes Ertz is headed to Buffalo and that it could be a matter of weeks.
“The word today is that they’re very close to a deal and I don’t have any inside information to substantiate this, but the word is that they’re close to a deal with Buffalo for Zach Ertz,” Reese told Sileo. “I believe you have as much chance of being on this roster as Zach Ertz in a few weeks.”
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the #Bills are reportedly close to a deal for #Eagles TE Zach Ertz.
Here’s what Merrill Reese, the play-by-play voice of the Eagles, told The National Football Show. t.co/9UzUn9u3R6 #BillsMafia
Reese’s appearance sparked speculation that the deal could be done soon, but the famed announcer later emphasized that he was responding to existing speculation that connected the Bills to the Pro Bowl tight end. Reese told Sports Illustrated’s Bills Central that he was simply responding to past reports on the potential trade while making a larger point that Ertz’s days in Philadelphia were numbered.
“It was at least a week or two ago,” Reese said. “I don’t even remember. It might have been a week ago, two weeks ago, I was referring to a report that I read someplace weeks before that. I said I didn’t have any inside information.
“And then I kiddingly said to him that “you and Zach Ertz have the same chance of being on the Eagles this year.’ ”
Bills Look To Boost Tight End Position
Whether the Bills ultimately land Ertz or not, the team has made it clear that upgrading the tight end position was a major goal this offseason. While many believe that will come with the further development of Dawson Knox, the team also signed tight end Jacob Hollister.
#Bills Dawson Knox at @te_university
After the end of last season, with the Bills losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game and Travis Kelce gashing Buffalo’s defense, Bills general manager Brandon Beane said the need to upgrade their own tight end room was glaring.
“At the end of the year, I thought we did a little bit, Dawson started to get his groove, but it was never where the opposing defense was like, ‘Man, we’ve got to stop their tight ends from going off,’ ” he said, via ESPN. “We’d love to have a guy like what we just faced in Kansas City [All-Pro Travis Kelce] — they don’t come very often. But that’s what we want.”
READ NEXT: Analyst Predicts Monstrous Year for Bills’ Josh Allen, Makes New Prediction