Zach Ertz is back in green. The 35-year-old tight end and former Eagles star signed a deal to join the team's practice squad on Monday afternoon, which comes in the wake of starting tight end Dallas Goedert suffering an MCL sprain in the team's Week 2 victory over the Tennessee Titans — and Ertz is thrilled to be back where his NFL career began. "My mom was in tears.
My wife was ecstatic. My kids, they don't really understand, but I already had the boys practicing the E-A-G-L-E-S chant, so overall it was good. It's an exciting time," Ertz said in a press conference on Tuesday morning.
"I'm just really happy to be back and honored to be back in the Eagles green, but, at the end of the day, I got to go earn whatever role I can, so that's the goal right now." Ertz, a three-time Pro Bowler, spent the first eight-plus seasons of his career with the Eagles (2013-21) before being traded to the Arizona Cardinals during the 2021 season. Following a two-plus-year stint in Arizona (2021-23), Ertz played two seasons for the Washington Commanders, averaging 58.0 receptions for 579.0 yards and 5.5 touchdowns per year from 2024-25. His 2025 campaign ended in Week 14 due to a torn ACL.
In suiting up for Washington, Ertz added to the lengthy list of perennial Pro Bowlers and/or Hall of Famers to play for both the Eagles and Commanders, a list that includes wide receivers Art Monk and DeSean Jackson, quarterbacks Sonny Jurgensen, Donovan McNabb and Norm Snead and defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, among others. Ironically, Ertz and the Commanders faced off against the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game in the 2024 season. Ertz logged a game-high 11 receptions for 104 yards in the loss for Washington.
As for his standing in Eagles history, Ertz is second in franchise history in receptions (579), fifth in receiving yards (6,267) and seventh in receiving touchdowns (38). Should Ertz ultimately be activated to the active roster, he needs 11 receptions to pass Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael for first in receptions in Eagles' history. Ertz was a central part of Philadelphia's offense during his initial stint with the team and reeled in the go-ahead and ultimate game-winning touchdown for the Eagles with 2:21 remaining in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LII.
The Eagles are off to a 2-0 start, with their offense, which has a new coordinator in former Green Bay Packers assistant Sean Mannion, 12th in the NFL in passing yards (217.0 per game), 13th in total yards (329.5 per game), tied for 13th in points (24.0 per game) and 14th outright in rushing yards (112.5 per game). Ertz actually played 10 games with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts as the team's starter (four games in 2020 and six games in 2021).
