In what sounds like one of the more serious Quad strains to ever occur, the Cardinals have chosen to place Zach Ertz on IR after he sustained the injury in week 7 against the Seahawks. He is now set to miss the next 4 weeks, with his earliest chance to return being week 12 against the Rams. While the Rams have been one of the more generous teams to opposing tight ends, Ertz’s production over the past few weeks doesn’t give fantasy managers much reason to hold out for his return.

Ertz started off the season looking like his old, target-earning self, securing 8 or more targets in 3 of his first 4 games. Since week 5, he’s been unable to garner more than 5 targets in a game, and he saw his snap share drop below 75% in weeks 6 & 7. Over those past two weeks, Ertz’s backup Trey McBride has been eating into the tight end snap share and has drawn more than 5 targets in both games.

Ertz missing at least the next 4 games makes McBride a top waiver priority for tight end needy teams. The Cardinals took McBride in the 2nd round of the 2022 draft after he won the John Mackey award as the top collegiate tight end for the CSU Rams in 2021. It’s clear McBride has the pedigree to secure the starting role if he can produce going forward, and fantasy managers should feel comfortable dropping Ertz in regular league formats if they need the roster spot.