Today, a week ago, the NFL Network reported that a deal with Zach Ertz “could happen in the next few days”.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. It is almost as if the Eagles leaked this in an attempt to create a (false) sense of urgency and the teams (predictably) did not fall for it!
At the same time, Ertz “became increasingly impatient” with the Eagles for not negotiating or releasing him. The following comes from Tom Pelissero of the NFL:
“The Eagles insist that they will not be releasing their three-time Pro Bowl tight end, Zach Ertz. And with several teams showing interest in an exchange, I learned that Ertz is increasingly impatient with the team to do something. Up to this point, the price has been too high for other teams. The Eagles are looking for a choice in the draft – something in the third, maybe fourth round range. Ertz owes $ 8.5 million in the last year of his 2021 contract. It is not an astronomical number, but remember, he is 31 years old, he is recovering from an injury, it is difficult to obtain this type of compensation by selection draft. So while the Eagles insist they would be happy to have Ertz on the list in 2021 – remember, your good friend Carson Wentz has already negotiated with the Colts – it certainly looks like Ertz is looking forward to a new start here. “
There is nothing wrong with aiming high in the negotiations. But the Eagles are simply not going to get a choice in the third or fourth round in exchange for Ertz, when the teams suspect Philly is going to eliminate him. Ertz clearly wants to move on and the Eagles could benefit from the $ 4.95 million cap space release they left. It is very difficult to imagine a scenario in which Ertz plays for the Eagles in 2021. This ship apparently left.
And so it looks like it’s only a matter of time before the Eagles agree to this and release him. Maybe they will be able to surprise you and exchange it for, say, a fifth round choice … but that seems very optimistic at the moment. Best result of the scenario.