In an offseason that has already seen the Philadelphia Eagles hire a new head coach and one in which quarterback Sam Bradford is still unsigned, the organization made sure that tight end Zach Ertz will be in Philly for the bulk of his career.
Per Adam Schefter, Ertz and the Eagles agreed to a new five-year deal that keeps the tight end around through the 2021 season. The contract extension is worth $42.5 million, including $20 million guaranteed, which makes Ertz the third-highest paid tight end in the game, behind just Rob Gronkowski ($54 million) and Julius Thomas ($46 million), and ahead of Jimmy Graham ($40 million) and Charles Clay ($38 million). Had they let Ertz hit the open market next offseason, there’s a good chance he would have at least cleared the deal that Thomas got, while pushing for $50 million. It’s a solid move by the Philadelphia front office to lock up Ertz long-term before they get in a bidding war with other teams for his services.
Ertz was a 2013 second-round pick of former head coach Chip Kelly, and he broke out in the final month of the ’15 campaign, catching 35 passes for 450 yards. Per CSN Philly’s Reuben Frank, that’s the best four-game finish to a season by any tight end in NFL history. That included a 13-catch game against the Washington Redskins (the second straight year Ertz victimized the Redskins for 13+ catches in a December contest) and a 152-yard output against the New York Giants to close out the season.
Ertz set single-season highs in 2015 in receptions (75) and receiving yards (853). His touchdowns were down (just two total), but he’s missed only one game due to injury in three NFL seasons, and he’s an easy top-10 tight end in a league in which the position is becoming increasingly more valuable. He’s shown steady improvement since entering the league, and players of his skill are easily worth the $8 million per year he’ll be receiving.
It’s likely Philly moves on from veteran Brent Celek, who is due to make $5 million next year but can be released at no dead cap penalty. Celek will need to restructure his deal to stay around, but if the Eagles decide it’s not worth it to bring Celek back at that price, it’s a testament to Ertz’s improved blocking over the years.
Ertz actually rated as PFF’s fourth-best run-blocking tight end in 2015, giving him an overall rating of +12.3 that made him a top-three player at his position. Drops remained an issue for Ertz, who tied for the tight end lead with seven of them; then again, only four tight ends saw more targets than Ertz’s (106).
The Eagles still don’t know if Bradford will be back as their 2016 quarterback, but for whoever lines up under center, he will inherit an underrated group of pass-catchers that includes Ertz, Jordan Matthews, and last year’s first-round pick, Nelson Agholor.
