49ers continue to monitor Zach Ertz situation, says John Lynch

Zach Ertz is available to any interested NFL team after the Arizona Cardinals waived him last week. Of course, the veteran tight end can be selective in choosing his next NFL destination, reportedly expressing a preference for joining a contender.

The best contender might be the San Francisco 49ers, particularly with tight end Ross Dwelley sidelined for multiple weeks due to a high-ankle sprain. This week, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reported that the 49ers are among the teams "most interested" in Ertz.

General manager John Lynch joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Friday morning and addressed the 49ers' interest in the Pro Bowl player.

"We're always monitoring things," Lynch told host Markus Boucher. "We do feel really good about our tight end group with George Kittle, Charlie Woerner. You see one reception on the year (for Woerner), but my goodness, I would tell you that Charlie's one of the more unsung players on our team. He makes so many contributions both on offense and special teams.

"And we got Brayden Willis, who we like a lot, who may get an opportunity to play if Ross is down. And we don't think Ross will be out for too long. So we like our group."

Despite this, Lynch recognizes that adding an experienced player like Ertz to the depth chart would fortify an already talent-rich roster.

"When you have the opportunity, [when] a guy like Ertz is out there, you always take a look," Lynch said. "We haven't done anything yet. We'll see where that goes. We'll continue to monitor him as we do many other people that are out there."