Getty Former LSU CB Kristian Fulton suffered a knee injury in 2020 and hit injured reserve for the Titans.
The Tennessee Titans made the biggest splash of the offseason last week when they traded for Julio Jones. The All-Pro receiver may have been the first piece of the puzzle as the franchise goes “all in” for the 2021 campaign.
The second part of that jigsaw might be Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Titans are in dire need of a playmaking tight end after watching Jonnu Smith leave in free agency. Fourth-year tight end Anthony Firkser — 72 career receptions for 816 yards — is the presumed starter in Tennessee, with fellow unprovens Geoff Swaim and Jared Pinkney rounding out the depth chart.
Titans general manager Jon Robinson recently told reporters that the team is “still monitoring” available tight ends. Ertz is in on the trade market due to a contract stalemate in Philly, while free-agent options include Trey Burton, Tyler Eifert, Jesse James. One limiting factor in an Ertz trade would be a lack of draft picks and cap space for Tennessee.
Then again, there is always the chance the Eagles would bite on a promising young cornerback like Elijah Molden or Kristian Fulton. The latter would be an extremely interesting trade candidate after an up-and-down year where he battled a knee injury and saw action in only six games (two starts). Fulton, a second-round pick out of LSU, was one of the top corners in the 2020 draft.
Meanwhile, Jim Wyatt of the Titans’ website believes that “more help” is coming for Tennessee at the tight end spot. He mentioned veteran Delanie Walker by name, but the obvious implication points straight at Ertz.
“I feel like I still have a lot of good years left, a lot of good years of being a productive tight end in this league,” Ertz told reporters on Jan. 4. “There are a lot of things out of my control and I won’t have a lot of angst either way.”
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Buffalo Bills Rumors Lingering
The other team attached to Ertz right now is the Buffalo Bills. ESPN’s Josina Anderson dug up those rumors earlier this week when she reported that the Bills had “apprehensions” at tight end, adding that “folks were still staking out Zach Ertz’s situation in Philly.” People quickly connected those two dots to mean Buffalo was at least interested in Ertz.
“At the end of the day we’d love to have a guy like we just faced.”
–#Bills GM Brandon Beane on Travis Kelce.
So would 28 other teams.
Buffalo will head into the 2021 season with Dawson Knox as TE1 and former Seattle Seahawk Jacob Hollister behind him. Not bad, but it’s a unit that would benefit greatly from an upgrade. Bills general manager Brandon Beane watched his team get torched by All-Pro Travis Kelce in the AFC Championship Game and lamented the position after the loss. He understands the value of an elite tight end.
“We just never really got that position,” Beane said, via ESPN. “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.’ So we’ll into look to that group.”
Ertz Remains Under Contract in Philly
Remember, Ertz has one more year on the $42.5 million contract he inked in 2016. The Eagles could play hardball and make him honor it. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has already been clear that the franchise has no intention to give away the three-time Pro Bowler for a bag of peanuts.
Howie Roseman on Zach Ertz: Still under contract. This is a guy still in his prime. We have to do what’s best for our team. If something changes, we’ll let you know. #Eagles
“For us to trade any player, it’s got to make sense for both sides,” Roseman told reporters on March 18. “It’s got to make sense for the Philadelphia Eagles, too, because none of us have the year that we wanted last year, but that doesn’t define who we are, who we are in our jobs. We know who he is. We know who he is both on and off the field. We value that.
His veteran guidance could serve Dallas Goedert well for another year. But the Eagles stand to gain $8.5 million in salary-cap space by trading or releasing Ertz. The team also just signed veteran Richard Rodgers to a one-year deal.