Updated

Updated · Fox News · Sep 21

Eagles Sign 35-Year-Old Zach Ertz to Practice Squad as Dallas Goedert Faces Weeks Out

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Sep 21

Eagles Sign 35-Year-Old Zach Ertz to Practice Squad as Dallas Goedert Faces Weeks Out

Q: Can 35-year-old Zach Ertz overcome his ACL rehab to break the Eagles' all-time reception record this season?

Yes — it is realistic, though far from guaranteed. Ertz needs only 11 catches to pass Harold Carmichael’s Eagles record of 590 receptions, and that is a modest target if he gets onto the active roster quickly and has any meaningful role in the offense. Even last season in Washington, before his late ACL injury, he produced 50 catches in 13 games, showing he can still function as a reliable short-area target at age 35. The biggest variable is not the record itself but opportunity and health. Philadelphia signed him to the practice squad specifically to let him regain conditioning after ACL rehab, and Dallas Goedert is expected to miss several weeks with an MCL sprain. That opens a short-term window for Ertz, especially because the Eagles’ tight end depth is thin with other backups on injured reserve. There is also evidence that the rehab hurdle is no longer the main obstacle. Reports this summer said Ertz had been cleared for football activities, and he has said publicly that his recovery was progressing without setbacks. That does not erase the challenge of returning from a major knee injury at his age, but it suggests availability is more plausible than it looked earlier in the offseason. If Ertz is elevated soon and plays even a part-time receiving role during Goedert’s absence, 11 catches is well within reach. If his conditioning lags, or Goedert returns quickly and pushes him back into a minimal role, the chase becomes much harder.

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 21

Philadelphia added veteran tight end Zach Ertz to its practice squad Monday after starter Dallas Goedert suffered a sprained MCL in Sunday’s 24-20 win over Tennessee.
Goedert is expected to miss several weeks, and the Eagles’ depth was already depleted with Eli Stowers and Grant Calcaterra on injured reserve, leaving E.J. Jenkins and Joshua Deguara as the only healthy options.
The practice-squad move gives the 35-year-old time to regain conditioning before an expected promotion to the 53-man roster.
Ertz spent nine seasons with Philadelphia before leaving in 2021 and ranks second in franchise history with 579 catches—11 shy of Harold Carmichael’s team record.
He returns after two seasons with Washington, where he posted 50 catches for 504 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games last year before a late knee injury.