Tonight’s game will be the last in an Eagles uniform for several players. The most notable among them is 3-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz, who is completing his eighth NFL season, all with the Eagles.
Yesterday, Zach’s younger brother Nic took to Twitter (now deleted) to send Zach a heartfelt message, on what could be his final game as an Eagle.
The tweet reads, in part:
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SIGN UP HERE If tomorrow is your last game reppin’ the green and the wings on the helmet, just know your family has been in awe of your first chapter in the NFL. I will die on the hill that people out there have never truly appreciated the work ethic, the talent and the perseverance to be a Super Bowl Hero, a receptions record holder and a three time pro bowler.
The younger Ertz, like anyone, is welcome to his opinion, but I don’t think there’s a lack of appreciation locally for Zach. He’s certainly the best tight end the franchise has ever had, and Eagles fans recognize that.
He holds the franchise record for catches in a season with 116 in 2018. He ranks second in career catches with 558, and would have likely passed Harold Carmichael’s 589, had he not missed six games this season with an ankle injury.
Only 11 tight ends in the history of the league have more career catches, and he only just turned 30 in November.
NFL
All of that is to say nothing of all the work Ertz does in the local community.
Perhaps the perceived lack of appreciation stems from the fact that the Eagles have not yet re-signed Ertz. It doesn’t rule it out, but not having a new contract as the current one is set to expire usually means there isn’t much interest in keeping him around.
If anything, perhaps the lack of appreciation Nic is talking about is from a national perspective. While not many put him in the same category as Travis Kelce and George Kittle, Ertz has been a consensus top-5 tight end in the league for the last five years. Anyone who doesn’t think so simply isn’t paying attention to his game.
In any case, we also wish Ertz well, no matter what uniform he wears beyond this season. It’s not every day you catch the game-winning touchdown in the only Super Bowl win a city’s ever had.
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