More Zach Ertz Speculation

Zach Ertz is still an Eagle. Hopefully that will change soon, for his sake and the team’s. It is time for the two sides to part ways. Ertz is still an all-time great Eagle, but this team is rebuilding and he wants a new deal. The fit is no longer right.

I know some people would love to see him stay and finish his career as an Eagle. That would be cool. It just isn’t realistic, in my mind. One of the big problems for last year’s team was agendas. Too many players and coaches focused on themselves, not the team. Carson Wentz had a chip on his shoulder because of Jalen Hurts being drafted. Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson knew they were in their final season playing for the Eagles. Jason Peters wanted to max out his final season with the team and pushed for every dollar he could get. Ertz wanted a new deal and wasn’t happy that it didn’t happen and the team didn’t even take his desire for one all that seriously.

If the 2021 team wants to have a better season and get things going in the right direction, they need to get rid of agendas and have everyone come together as a team. I just don’t think keeping Ertz helps that situation at all. He would be a distraction. They have to move him.

Talks on a potential Zach Ertz trade have been ongoing for quite some time but fairly quiet of late. At least three TE-needy teams have looked into this. Eagles have made clear they won't part for nothing in return, making a release unlikely. Things could pick back up this week.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) June 1, 2021

That’s pretty vague so don’t get too fired up right now.

This was interesting.

The Bills converted $11,718,333 of WR Stefon Diggs' base salary into a signing bonus, creating $7,812,222 in 2021 cap space, per source.

A good chunk of cap space for Buffalo to work with as the season draws closer.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) June 1, 2021

The Bills could use another TE. They have a young guy named Dawson Knox and he is talented, but only caught 24 passes last year. Ertz would give them a talented player and a veteran to help bring along the young TE.

Buffalo has the feel of a Super Bowl team. Relying on Knox and the unproven guys after him seems like an awfully risky idea. Ertz would be a good fit for that roster and would give Josh Allen another weapon in the passing game.

The Bills now have the cap space. That doesn’t mean the deal will happen or is anywhere close, but it does make a lot of sense. Stay tuned on that one.

Another talented team with a need at TE is the Cardinals. They are in the ultra-competitive NFC West. The Cardinals finished 8-8 last year. The Rams and Niners played in the Super Bowl in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Seattle last appeared in the big game back in 2014. For the Cardinals to breakthrough and get to the playoffs, they’ll need all the help they can get.

Maxx Williams isn’t much of a weapon at TE. To be fair, that offense is built around receivers. Still, there are times when you need a TE and Ertz would be a clear upgrade.

Arizona is looking to trade LB Jordan Hicks. That could be an interesting player-for-player swap. Hicks would upgrade the Eagles LBs. And Jonathan Gannon wants playmakers at every level. He’s not going to obsess on the DL over the other levels.

Gannon saw the value of Eric Kendricks in Minnesota and Darius Leonard in Indy. Both LBs have good cover skills. Hicks has good cover skills and he’s a playmaker. If the ball is up in the air or on the ground, he’s going to come up with it. If you want takeaways, Hicks makes a lot of sense.

The flip side to all of this is that teams might just wait the Eagles out. If they think the Eagles are desperate for cap space, wait for them to cut Ertz. You know Howie Roseman doesn’t want to do that, but he’s got to make a move at some point. Keeping Ertz around doesn’t help the team at all.

I tend to think a contender will feel the risk is worth the potential reward and will make the trade. We are probably talking a late pick in the 2022 draft. Maybe you get a fifth round pick. Maybe you can make it conditional and get something potentially better.

Howie is the master of making trades so you know he’ll work the phones and leverage every angle he can. We just need some other team to want Ertz enough to pull the trigger and make the deal happen.

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