Cardinals release Zach Ertz; Would a return to the Eagles make sense? – NBC Sports Philadelphia

Former teammate JJ Watt says Jack Ertz has requested and been granted his release by the Cards and hopes to sign with a contender.

Watt, a five-time All-Pro edge rusher, tweeted the news Thursday about Ertz, who caught 579 passes after his first 8 ½ seasons with the Eagles – 2^n.d10 fewer than Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael, all-time by Eagle.

The Eagles traded Ertz to the Cards for cornerback Tay Cowan and a 5^Th– Six games into the 2021 season, Arizona is 5-0 when Ertz goes there, 6-6 later that year and 4-13 last year, and is 2-10 under 1 this year.^St-Coach of the Year Jonathan Cannon, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator the past two seasons.

Ertz caught 130 passes for 1,167 yards and eight TDs in 28 games for the Cards. He hasn’t played since Week 7 with a quad injury. He had just 27 catches for 187 yards and one TD in seven games this year before getting hurt.

With the Eagles, Ertz was a prolific tight end and a Super Bowl hero.

He caught 579 passes for 6,267 yards and 38 TDs in an Eagles uniform and made the Pro Bowl after the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons. In 2018, he set the NFL record for a tight end with 116 receptions.

In Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis after the 2017 season, Ertz made two of the biggest catches in Eagles history. After the Patriots went up 33-32, the Eagles countered with a 4^Th-and-1 was just shy of midfield with 5:39 left, and Ertz caught a short first-down pass from Nick Foles. Later in that drive, with 2:25 left, he caught an 11-yard TD pass from Foles to give the Eagles the lead en route to the franchise’s first championship in 57 years.

When Ertz was traded to the Cards, he said he wanted to one day return to the Eagles and repeat Carmichael’s feat.

Is that possible?

The Eagles are thin on tight end. Dallas Goedert is still recovering from a fracture in his hand and did not practice Wednesday, Grant Calcaterra missed practice Wednesday with an ankle injury, and Calcaterra and Stoll combined for 27 yards on four catches this year.

Ertz turned 33 last week, and assuming he clears waivers, his current contract with the Cards — a three-year, $31.65 million contract he signed through March 2022 — will disappear. Ertz is due about $4.4 million through the year and has a base salary of $7.96 million in 2024. Ertz 709 career receptions, 8^ThFive behind Jimmy Graham for seventh by a tight end in NFL history.