Zach Ertz

The Detroit Lions held off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday to advance to the NFC Championship game, but second string TE Brock Wright was injured in the contest.  With Wright injured, they are adding former Cardinals TE Zach Ertz to their practice squad in hope to elevate him to help the active roster for the Lions’ playoff run.

Zach Ertz was released by the Cardinals earlier this season.  He hasn’t played since week 7, so this move is to help put depth behind Sam LaPorta, who has been playing with an injured knee.

Zach Ertz, the 33-year-old tight end, has been officially released from the Arizona Cardinals. Ertz had requested his release to have a chance to play for a Super Bowl contender. This decision makes sense for both parties involved. Trey McBride, the young tight end, has taken over Ertz’s playing time in Arizona, effectively making Ertz a cheerleader. With Ertz not contributing to the team and the Cardinals sitting at a record of 2-10, there is little left for them to play for except pride.

Both parties have agreed to part ways, allowing McBride to have a full chance to develop into a fantasy star during the remainder of the season, and giving Zach Ertz an opportunity to contribute to a contender.

Ertz has been on IR since late October and has not played a single snap for the Cardinals since then.  He concludes his time in 2023 in Arizona with 27 catches for 187 yards and 1 touchdown.

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.