There are "multiple teams" that have called the Philadelphia Eagles about the possibility of trading for tight end Zach Ertz, according to a report from Mike Silver of NFL Network.
Ertz has long been one of the Eagles' most productive players, leading the Eagles in receiving in four of the five years during the Doug Pederson - Carson Wentz era. The exception, of course, was 2020, when Ertz had a brutal season, missing five games and producing career lows in receptions (36), yards (335), yards per catch (9.3), yards per target (4.7), and TDs (1). He also had five drops, for a drop percentage of 12.2 percent, the worst of his career. Yes, the Eagles' offense was disjointed just generally speaking, but Ertz also underperformed relative to the standards he had set over the bulk of his career in Philly.
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Prior to the 2020 season, Ertz made it known that he was unhappy with his contract situation, after seeing George Kittle and Travis Kelce get new deals. At the end of the season, an emotional Ertz seemed to realize his tenure with the team was soon coming to an end.
Ertz has a base salary of $8,250,000 in 2021, and he has a cap figure of $12,471,500. If the Eagles release or trade him they will have $7,769,500 in dead money counting against their cap, with a savings of $4,702,000. If Ertz is dealt, that trade cannot be executed until the after the start of the new league year on March, so the savings earned by trading him will not help the Eagles get under the cap prior to the deadline to do so. Though certainly, the Eagles can use all the lottery tickets they can get their hands on in the draft.
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