Eagles To Bring Back TE Zach Ertz

Also coming off a major injury — an ACL tear — Ertz received clearance this summer. This is a practice squad deal, though it will be expected Ertz suits up for the team that drafted him again soon. An activation is in play for Week 3, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane notes.

The Eagles placed second-round rookie Eli Stowers on IR before Week 1. Dallas Goedert, whom the Eagles chose to extend over Ertz in 2021, has also run into more injury trouble. Goedert suffered an MCL sprain against the Titans in Week 2, per Schefter and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. The longtime Eagles tight end starter is expected to miss a few weeks, making him an IR candidate.

Goedert is certainly no stranger to weekslong injury absences, and the Stowers situation — the Vanderbilt product is out until at least Week 5 due to hamstring and quad issues — had already depleted the Eagles’ TE corps. Enter Ertz, who came up as a reunion candidate before the Stowers IR placement.

Playing the past two seasons with the Commanders, Ertz saw his on-field run in Washington end with an ACL tear sustained in December. The 14th-year veteran received full clearance in early August. Nick Sirianni was in place as Eagles HC when the team last employed Ertz, and GM Howie Roseman drafted the accomplished pass catcher in the 2013 second round.

Ertz, 35, had done some TV work at ESPN recently but had expressed interest in continuing his career early this offseason. This will be an interesting opportunity, as Ertz’s first Eagles stint positioned him near the top of the team’s career receptions leaderboard. The veteran is 10 catches behind Hall of Fame wide receiver Harold Carmichael in catches as an Eagles (589-579). Ertz will not join the 6-foot-8 Carmichael in Canton, but in all likelihood, this agreement will propel him to the top of Philly’s all-time reception list.

The Eagles leaned on Ertz during the Carson Wentz years especially, seeing wide receiver health issues crop up frequently during that span. A Pro Bowler from 2017-19, Ertz topped 800 receiving yards each season from 2015-19. After scoring the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LII, Ertz caught a career-high 116 passes for 1,163 yards in 2018. That season doubled as Goedert’s rookie season. While the two played together for three-plus years, it became clear Philly was interested in paying the younger tight end rather than giving Ertz a third contract.

Ertz and Roseman engaged in a heated discussion at a September 2020 practice, as the long-running starter angled for a new contract. The Eagles had extended Ertz in 2016, giving him a five-year deal worth $42.5MM. That quickly became an Eagles-friendly pact, and a disgruntled Ertz trudged through the 2020 season. Trade rumors followed in 2021, and the Eagles eventually moved on by dealing their then-starter to the Cardinals for a 2022 fifth-round pick and cornerback Tay Gowan. Ertz enjoyed a productive Arizona tenure but soon saw the team, as Philadelphia had years earlier, identify his replacement with a Day 2 pick.

Illustrating the Cardinals’ modern futility at tight end before the Ertz trade, the in-season addition set the franchise’s Arizona-years record for single-season receiving yards at the position (574) as he helped Kliff Kingsbury’s team to the playoffs. The Cards then drafted Trey McBride in the 2022 second round, and Ertz suffered ACL and MCL tears during the ’22 season. The Cardinals then released him from IR, amid a separate injury issue, during the 2023 campaign. Ertz signed two one-year deals with Washington, reuniting with Kingsbury, over the previous two offseasons.

As McBride soon ascended to the All-Pro level, Ertz became a valuable contributor during the Commanders’ surprising run to the 2024 NFC championship game. Ertz caught 66 passes for 654 yards and seven touchdowns to help Jayden Daniels secure Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Washington re-signed Ertz to a one-year, $6.25MM deal. He was on a similar pace last year, despite Daniels missing most of the season, and produced a 50/504/4 line before suffering another ACL tear.

Down Goedert and Stowers, the Eagles entered Monday light on TE muscle. Johnny Mundt and E.J. Jenkins are the healthy options on the team’s 53-man roster, with Josiah Deguara residing on the practice squad. Ertz has a clear path toward a regular role with the Eagles once again, and he will be poised to be a complementary piece in a DeVonta Smith-fronted pass catching cadre.

After the Eagles pushed Goedert’s void date back multiple times in March, the sides reached an agreement on a one-year, $7MM deal in March. Goedert, who had been the subject of trade rumors in 2025, has missed at least five games in three of the previous five seasons.

The ninth-year veteran was instrumental in the team beating the Commanders in Week 1, catching two touchdown passes, but will be on the shelf for a bit. Stowers is positioned to be Goedert’s heir apparent as Philly’s top TE, but his debut is on hold. When Stowers does reemerge, he may have two 30-somethings in front of him following this Ertz reunion.