Fox Sports NFL reporter: Free agent tight end Zach Ertz would be great fit for Chiefs
The Chiefs have three tight ends on their 53-man roster, but one NFL Network/Fox Sports reporter thinks the team should add another.
The Chiefs’ issues on offense were a topic of conversation Tuesday on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” Peter Schrager, who also is a Fox Sports reporter, thinks free agent tight end Zach Ertz could help the Chiefs.
“Last year they went through this, the Chiefs, they had their offensive struggles and they said well, they’ll pick it up,” Schrager said. “They’ll figure it out there without Tyreek (Hill), but they got enough guys and they did. And it was MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) and it was JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and Skyy Moore and it was (Kadarius) Toney. Hasn’t happened yet this season. ...
“Zach Ertz is really interesting to me. Zach Ertz can still catch passes. The Cardinals were cool enough to grant him his release. And over the weekend I reported on Fox that he’s considering the Ravens, the Eagles, two obvious teams.”
But Schrager said the Chiefs should reach out to Ertz, who was released by the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday. Ertz, 33, is a three-time Pro Bowler who has 709 receptions and 7,434 receiving yards in his career.
The Cardinals website noted Ertz has missed five games while on injured reserve because of a quad injury and must go through waivers. Any team that claims Ertz would owe him roughly $2.5 million, the Cardinals site said.
According to the NFL Players Association’s public salary cap figures, the Chiefs have roughly $2.24 million in space.
“The Chiefs to me makes so much sense,” Schrager said, “and I wonder if Kansas City says, ‘I know we’ve got a few tight ends and we’re good and (Travis) Kelce is the guy, but we don’t care if it’s tight end, wide receiver or what, we need someone else who can catch passes down the stretch.’ We need someone who’s reliable and has been there.’
“Zach Ertz in a Chiefs uniform makes a lot of sense to me. Let’s see if they go after him and then try to pursue that.”
In eight career playoff games, Ertz has averaged 10.6 yards per catch and he helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl title. That veteran leadership could be beneficial
“Ertz to me is really interesting,” Schrager said. “He might be the factor here in the AFC as another pass catcher that can take one of these teams over the top.”
You can watch the conversation here.
