Zach Ertz wasn't a Lion for long, but he loved his time with the team. Had it all worked out, he would have played a key role in Detroit winning the Super Bowl.
The veteran tight end, who signed with the Lions after their divisional round win over the Buccaneers last season, said Thursday that the plan was for him "to come in for a week and learn the playbook and then have an opportunity to have a legitimate role in the Super Bowl." It looked like it was headed that way until the Lions blew a 24-7 lead over the 49ers in the NFC title game.
"Everyone knows what happened, we didn't finish the game. It was tough watching, man," Ertz said on the Pat McAfee Show after he agreed to a one-year deal with the Commanders on Wednesday. "I wanted to be out there. And just being out there, I love Detroit, I love Dan Campbell, Steve Heiden’s my guy, the tight end coach out there, and Sam LaPorta’s a stud, man. So it was a lot of fun being out there. Especially with all the drama that happened in Arizona, it was great to be back out there in a culture that was playing for an NFC Championship."
A three-time Pro Bowler with the Eagles, Ertz came to the Lions after three seasons with the Cardinals, who went from a playoff team when he arrived to a last-place team under a new general manager and new coaching staff when he left. He asked for and was granted his release last November after a quad injury and "wanted the right opportunity" to latch on with a new team, which wound up being the Lions.
"Being here with these guys, learning from a head coach that was a tight end, was something I couldn't turn down," Ertz said when he signed.
He reiterated Thursday, "The plan was to play in the Super Bowl, which would have been insane with everything that happened in the past year and a half." It just wasn't meant to be.