One of the longest tenured Eagles is headed to Arizona following the team’s Thursday night tilt with the Buccaneers. Only hours removed from posting a 4rec/29yds/1TD statline in Philadelphia’s near comeback against Tampa Bay, Zach Ertz is on his way to join the Cardinals. In return, the Eagles will be receiving cornerback Tay Gowan, and a 2022 5th round draft pick.
Ertz was originally selected by Philadelphia in the 2nd round (35th overall) of the 2013 NFL draft out of Stanford. Since then, he’s suited up for 123 NFL games, all for the Eagles, and posted career totals of 579rec/6267yds/38TDs. A 3x Pro Bowler, Ertz was a key piece of Philadelphia’s 2017 Super Bowl victory over New England. Ertz is also the single season reception leader in NFL history from a tight end, a feat he accomplished in 2018 when he caught 116 passes.
The move comes on the heels of Arizona losing Maxx Williams to a season ending knee injury. With a sudden hole on offense, Cardinals GM Steve Keim didn’t hesitate to go out and add a quality veteran in Ertz to the lineup. By going from the Eagles to the Cardinals, Ertz suddenly finds himself on the lone undefeated team remaining in the NFL.
Fantasy wise this bodes well for both Ertz and Goedert owners alike, as each TE is likely to see an uptick in targets moving forward. Goedert now becomes the focal point of the Eagles passing attack, while Ertz joins a loaded Arizona squad led by Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins. If either is available, be sure to grab them off the waiver wire, or see if you can pry them away from their respective owner. This may be your last chance to buy low on either of them before they step into a more prominent role offensively.
And before you ask, no, Ertz is unfortunately not able to also suit up for the Cardinals this week and add to his Thursday night total.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner