PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Eagles tight end Zach Ertz will report with his teammates when training camp begins on Tuesday, according to 94WIP's Howard Eskin. Ertz has been working out with teammates at the NovaCare Complex for the last couple of weeks, Eskin reported Wednesday afternoon.
"He's over the issues," Eskin tweeted.
During the offseason, according to the rumor mill, it seemed very possible that the 2013 second-round draft pick — who helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LII — would part ways with the team, either through a trade or by being released.
In 2020, Ertz reportedly had a contract dispute with the front office. According to spotrac, he has a $12.7 million cap hit in 2021, with a base salary of $8.5 million, so the Eagles would save money if they moved on without him.
Rumors aside, it is now late July. Training camp is almost here, and Ertz is still an Eagle. He is very, very likely to be behind fellow tight end Dallas Goedert on the depth chart. Ertz is 30 and coming off of a statistically terrible season. Goedert is 26 and considered the tight end of the team's future, assuming they extend his current contract. Both missed playing time in 2020 because of injury.
"I think the important part is Zach Ertz has [resigned] himself to put the past in the past, move forward," Eskin said Thursday on The WIP Morning Show. "I'm pretty sure he understands he's not the starting tight end. That it will be Dallas Goedert, and he's accepted all that, and he was ready to come back."
Eskin said he believes Ertz would bring an important veteran presence to the team this season. He also suggested, however, that if another team suddenly lost a tight end to injury, it is still possible that Ertz could be traded.
Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman has said several times in the offseason that Ertz is still a productive player, that they respect him, and that a trade will not happen unless it makes sense.
Eskin's report came as a surprise to some. On Jan. 4 — the day after the disappointing 2020 season ended — Ertz spoke emotionally about his time in Philadelphia and the foundation he had built, leading many to conclude that his time as an Eagle was coming to an end.
"I think this city is the best city to play for, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience," he said, fighting back tears.
"If you had asked me to place a bet on the possibility of him even coming to training camp, ... I would've said zero," said WIP host Ray Didinger on the station's midday program.
A good seven months later, it appears that emotional tribute to Philadelphia wasn't Ertz's swan song. All will become clear next week after camp opens.