The Philadelphia Eagles need to extend Zach Ertz sooner rather than later.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohen, George Kittle and the San Francisco 49ers were closing in on a contract extension that would have made Kittle the highest paid tight end in NFL history. While these rumors were swiftly debunked by Kittle himself on Twitter, the impact this situation has on the Philadelphia Eagles is undeniable.
Kittle is going to get his monster extension, it’s only a matter of a time. The number that Cohen threw out there was $94.8 million over six years, which averages out to $15.8 million per season. This would surpass Zach Ertz‘ current salary by just over $3 million.
Howie Roseman and the Eagles need to read the room on this one, and understand that no matter what Kittle receives, Ertz will likely ask for more. It’s very common for star players to “reset the market” when asking for a new contract, and Ertz has no reason to not do the same. Pushing hard for a contract extension with Ertz now, as opposed to after Kittle gets paid, is unequivocally the right play here for the Philly front office.
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Outside of maybe Jason Kelce or Lane Johnson, Ertz has without question been the Eagles most consistent overall player the past few years. He’s led the Eagles in both yards and receptions for each of the last four seasons, and has established himself as Carson Wentz‘ go-to target. Even when Wentz went down during the 2017 Super Bowl run, Ertz stepped up as a huge “safety blanket” for Nick Foles in the playoffs, capping it off with seven receptions and the game winning TD during the Super Bowl.
While Kittle and Travis Kelce have seemed to establish themselves as the top two tight ends in the league recently, statistically speaking, Ertz is still right up there as well. Since 2017, Ertz has ranked third in receiving yards amongst all TEs, second in catches, and first in receiving TDs. He’s been selected to three straight Pro Bowls, and obviously has a shiny SB ring sitting in his trophy case as well.
Ertz is coming off a “down year” in 2019, a down year in which he still put up 916 yards and six touchdowns. Heading into the new season, Philadelphia seriously prioritized speed and field spacing during the draft, which will likely cause the field to open up far more for Ertz. If everything goes according to plan, the veteran TE will have a monster 2020 season, and his price tag will only continue to grow.
The Eagles do have Dallas Goedert sitting behind Ertz, and many fans have been to quick to point out that they’d rather pay the younger TE less money, as opposed to handing over the bag to Ertz. While I agree that Goedert has an extremely bright future, it makes little to no sense to bail on Ertz at this stage in his career. He’s simply been too reliable of a target for Wentz and hasn’t even reached 30 years of age yet.
Future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates was a productive tight end all the way into his late 30s, and I don’t see why Ertz wouldn’t follow a similar path.
It was reported that Ertz actually turned down a contract extension during the 2019 season, as he likely knew his value would only continue to climb later on. Ertz has remained consistent however that he wants to retire in Philly, so this was clearly a disagreement on the financial side of things, as opposed to anything personal. Whatever the situation was during the season, Roseman should be heavily included to up his offer sooner rather than later. The second that Kittle extension is officially announced, the Eagles could be in a world of trouble when it comes to retaining their best overall pass catcher.