Getty Eagles tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert have been the subject of trade talks dating back to the offseason.
The draft is an inexact science, according to Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. Apparently, that generic rule applies to draft-day trades as well. Zach Ertz could be on the move sooner than expected.
Inside the Birds co-host Adam Caplan made some off-the-cuff remarks about the status of Ertz who has been seeking a favorable trade or his outright release dating back to the end of last season. He was vague when trying to detail a definitive timeline for an Ertz trade — “Ertz will be traded no later than early in the draft,” per Caplan — but the main point was that the three-time Pro Bowl tight end won’t be on the Eagles’ roster after the draft. It’s likely to happen either “on the lead-up” or sometime during draft weekend.
He’s played it right in that he’s waited as far as he could. It’s going to happen and there are some teams I’ve talked to — I don’t know who they talked to with the Eagles, but they seem to think he’s going to go … it could be, very realistically, today’s Monday? It could happen Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday leading up. It could happen. But it’s going to happen by the end of the draft for sure.
According to Adam Caplan, Zach Ertz will be traded by the end of the draft.
He scored the ONLY Super Bowl winning TD in Eagles history. Legend.
While there has been some tension between Ertz and the Eagles to get a something finalized, it has never materialized into a negative situation. In fact, Ertz became overwhelmed with emotion during an end-of-year Zoom call with reporters.
“I think this city is the best city to play for,” Ertz said, tears welling up inside his eyes. “I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. It means a lot to me. I’m not going to be bitter. I’m going to be honest and open and understanding.”
Zach Ertz had a heartfelt message to Philadelphia after what could have been his final game as an Eagle.😥
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ESPN’s Adam Schefter Talks Ertz, Eagles Draft
ESPN’s Adam Schefter chimed in on the raging Ertz debate, plus what he thinks the Eagles might do at pick No. 12 during a recent appearance on the John Kincade Show on 97.5 The Fanatic. He was stating his opinion, not citing direct sources, but the insight was telling nonetheless.
Schefter believes Roseman is “listening to offers” for Ertz, but he’s not going to simply give the star tight end away. He added that a lack of elite tight ends in this year’s draft — other than Florida’s Kyle Pitts, a top-5 pick — helps the Eagles out in a big way.
Adam Schefter talked a possible Zach Ertz trade, and the possibility of the Eagles moving UP….or DOWN from pick 12
What Schefter shared about the Eagles draft-day plans was a bit more noteworthy. He sees them standing pat at pick No. 12, rather than pursuing a trade to move up and possibly take a rookie quarterback or a top receiver.
“A week out I think they’ll stay where they are,” Schefter said. “They’ve made calls to move up and they’ve made calls to move back. Because that’s their job. To explore all scenarios.”
Franchise Heading in Wrong Direction?
Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus ranked the Eagles’ roster the sixth-worst in the entire NFL. Yikes. It’s not breaking news that the organization has whiffed a lot on draft picks in recent years but seeing the phrase “rightful concern” in print is never good. Here’s what he wrote about the state of the franchise:
There’s rightful concern with the current outlook of the Eagles roster at the most important positions on the field. They arguably have the worst offensive skill position group in the league, and their crop of cornerbacks outside of Darius Slay needs help. When looking at the three most important positions on the field — quarterback, wide receiver and cornerback — Philadelphia’s 2020 WAR generated comes in at -0.2 WAR. That’s the worst in the entire NFL by 0.7.
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