Zach Ertz is back in Philadelphia, but his first game of this second Eagles stint may not come right away.
Coach Nick Sirianni said Wednesday that the team is “excited” to have the three-time Pro Bowl tight end back in the building, while also making it clear that Ertz’s Week 3 status against the Bears is still up in the air.
“We haven’t practiced yet,” Sirianni said. “We’ll go out there today, and, like with every player, trust is built through practice and through reps. ...
We’ll go out at practice today, see where he is and see how we need to play this thing out. Excited to have Zach on the roster and moving forward.”
Ertz, who played for the Eagles from 2013-21, signed earlier this week and is starting back on the practice squad. A quick promotion to the 53-man roster would not be a shock.
His return lands at a useful moment for Philadelphia. Dallas Goedert is expected to miss a few weeks after suffering a sprained MCL against the Titans in Week 2, and rookie Eli Stowers is on IR. That leaves the Eagles thin at the position, with Johnny Mundt and EJ Jenkins as the only other tight ends on the roster.
Sirianni said Ertz hasn’t worked with offensive coordinator Sean Mannion or tight ends coach Ryan Mahaffey before, but he doesn’t sound overly concerned about the transition.
“We’ll go out there today and see how he lines up,” Ertz said. “As far as the knowledge of the system, there are a lot of plays that are similar throughout the NFL in offenses.
You’re just speaking one language, and now it’s about speaking another language, right? You’re speaking English, and now you have to speak French.
“Now, it’s a little easier in a game plan week. You learn the origins of where all the words come from, and then you don’t have quite the whole playbook to have to learn. So we’ll see where he is.
“I guess it’s too early to say, in my mind, where he is. But we will quiz him and figure out where he is on things. But you’ll also see that in practice and walkthrough and how he’s coming out of the huddle.”
Philadelphia visits Chicago at 8:15 p.m. next Monday at Soldier Field. If Ertz isn’t ready for that one, Week 4 against the Rams in Philadelphia could be his debut.
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