Veteran tight end Zach Ertz is back on the field in a big way: according to Adam Schefter, he has been officially cleared to resume football activities after recovering from a torn ACL and wants to play this season.
Schefter also reported that Ertz is expected to be ready to sign a contract in mid-August.
Earlier this offseason, Ertz made it clear he wants to keep going in 2026 if his body cooperates and he can find the right fit. That possibility had been clouded after his 13th NFL season ended after 13 games with the torn ACL, an injury that cast doubt on what came next.
In April, Ertz said he didn’t want the final image of his career to be tied to that injury.
“I don’t want it to be the last play that I have,” Ertz said, via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Even talking to people now, and they do it out of the goodness of their heart, and [they say], ‘Man, that injury was tough.’
When people think of my career and that last play, I don’t want that to be the conversation starter. And so, for me, it’s just doing everything I can to get back to my best because I felt like I was playing really good football before I got hurt.”
Ertz, 35, entered the league as a second-round pick of the Eagles in 2013. He was traded to the Cardinals during the 2021 season in a deal that sent CB Tay Gowan and a 2022 fifth-round pick back to Philadelphia.
He finished out the final year of his six-year, $43.64 million contract, a deal that included $20 million guaranteed and an $8.25 million base salary for the 2021 season. After that, he was set to hit unrestricted free agency before agreeing to a three-year, $31.65 million contract with the Cardinals that came with $17.5 million guaranteed.
Arizona was due to pay him $8.5 million in the final year of that deal in 2024 before releasing him. He later had a brief stint with the Lions before landing with the Commanders.
In March of 2025, Ertz returned to Washington on a one-year, $6.25 million contract that could grow to $9 million with incentives. He went on to appear in 13 games for the Commanders in 2025, catching 50 passes on 72 targets for 504 yards and four touchdowns.
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Cardinals Rookie Reggie Virgil Is Pushing For A Bigger Role Fast
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