Zach Ertz spoke with the media for the first time since January and had plenty to say. The veteran tight end went in depth on where he stands with the team heading into 2021.
There has been a lot of drama surrounding the Eagles’ tight end position this offseason.
Zach Ertz thought he was going to get traded. He’s still here.
Dallas Goedert thought he was going to get an extension. Hasn’t happened yet.
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So during his appearance on 94WIP with Angelo Cataldi on Wednesday morning, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was asked about the lack of a trade for Ertz and the lack of a contract extension for Goedert.
How close was Roseman to trading Ertz?
“I think that what we do in calm times, we try to make sure we know the value of all our players,” Roseman said. “Zach’s a guy that we drafted, we signed, helped us win a Super Bowl. We had a bad year last year. I had a bad year, this team had a bad year. That doesn’t make us bad at our jobs. We know what kind of player Zach is, we know what kind of person he is, and we’re not going to sell guys short when we know who they are.
“Nobody knows our players better than us, seeing them day in and day out, what they do for this team, what they do for this city, on and off the field. Zach’s a legend and we’re not going to go and look to move guys that we know their value is great. He’s a huge, huge part of this team and we’re really excited to have him. And anyone who’s been at camp or seen him in the preseason, they remember who Zach is.”
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Nobody ever offered up enough for Ertz so the Eagles called their bluff and decided to keep Ertz for another season.
It seems pretty clear based on Ertz’s emotional press conference after the season and Roseman’s comments all offseason that if an offer came in that the Eagles deemed acceptable, the all-time great Eagle would have been dealt. But based on his comments last week, Ertz is happy to be back in Philadelphia for another season.
Then there’s Goedert, who revealed on Monday that extension talks with the Eagles had stalled after he expected a deal would be done by now. Goedert said talks broke down before everyone knew Ertz would return.
But Roseman was asked on Wednesday if Ertz’s presence affected the negotiations with Goedert.
“We’ve got two really good players at that position and without getting into negotiating … I think that we want to have our good players here, we want to have them here long term,” Roseman said. “I don’t want to get into negotiating in public but Dallas knows how much we think of him and we hope he’s here into the future. He’s a great young guy and we’re expecting a big year from him.”
So now the Eagles are entering this season with Ertz and Goedert entering the final years of their contracts. It’ll be one of the storylines to keep an eye on.
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