Lions’ Zach Ertz Doesn’t Hold Back On Signing With Team

The Detroit Lions have signed tight end Zach Ertz heading into the NFC Championship Game, and Ertz seems very excited about the opportunity.

It wasn’t an easy decision for Ertz, who had to pick up and depart home in Arizona, but he couldn’t pass up the chance to play for a Super Bowl.

“I wanted to have the right opportunity if I was going to leave [home] at this point in the year,” Ertz said, via the Lions’ official YouTube account. “Being here with these guys. Learning from a head coach that was a tight end. I felt like it was something I couldn’t turn down.”

Ertz began the season with the Arizona Cardinals and logged 27 catches for 187 yards and a touchdown before being waived in November. He has since been without a team, and it remains to be seen just how productive he can be after sitting out the last couple of months.

But perhaps Lions head coach—and former NFL tight end—Dan Campbell can get the best out of him.

“I love Dan,” Ertz told reporters when asked about the Lions head coach. “We had a 20-minute conversation yesterday, and so I’m excited to see him in front of the team because he’s a guy I’ve had a lot of respect for over the years. He’s a guy that always gets his tight ends playing the right way. So I’m excited to be around him.”

There was a time when Ertz was one of the best tight ends in football. He made three straight Pro Bowl appearances with the Philadelphia Eagles between 2017 and 2019, with his best season coming in 2018 when he hauled in 116 receptions for 1,163 yards and eight touchdowns.

The 33-year-old is certainly not the same player anymore, but he surely has something left in the tank, and with Sam LaPorta currently banged up, perhaps Ertz could be of some real help to Detroit.

Zach Ertz and the Lions will battle the San Francisco 49ers for a spot in the Super Bowl this Sunday.