Arizona Cardinals TE Zach Ertz Not Rushing Return
TEMPE -- Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray isn't the only star in the desert rehabbing a torn ACL.
Tight end Zach Ertz isn't the loudest voice in the room, but make no mistake: He's a veteran on a Cardinals squad that is suddenly short on leaders compared to last season.
Ertz tore his ACL and MCL midway through the 2022 season and has quietly worked his way back to nearing full health. A major milestone in his comeback was hit during the preseason when he was activated from the PUP list, clearing the way for his ability to practice and potentially play in the team's Week 1 opener vs Washington.
Initial reports suggested Ertz could potentially be ready by then, though the veteran tight end met with reporters yesterday and said he wasn't sure.
"I need to see how I recover and practice consistent days in a row. Obviously, it's not something where it's just, 'Okay Zach, go play.' I got to earn the trust of my teammates, the coaches," Ertz said.
"I don't expect them to just plug me in there and say, 'This is the Zach for the past 10 years. He's gonna be the same in year 11.' I look forward to proving myself each and every day. Whether that's game one, game three, whenever I'm out there, I expect to be a difference maker. That decision I have a part to play in it, but it's also a lot of people coming together and making the decision as a group."
Ertz says at this point in time, he's not sure when he'll know if he's ready or not.
"I honestly don't know, I can't tell you as of now. I would like to anticipate knowing, but at the same time, I'm not going to put a hard fast line saying I need to know by this date in order to play on Sunday. So for me, I just take it every day, one day at a time, get better. That's all I'm focused on," he said.
Ertz spent much of training camp on the PUP list, relegating him to individual work on the side and preventing him from getting actual practice reps with the team.
"When you're off PUP, you can start practicing with the team. When you're on PUP, everything is on the side. I couldn't even throw with Kyler because even though we're both on PUP, you're not allowed to do any football activity essentially that they could view as practice or anything. So I'm essentially on the side doing everything by myself," said Ertz.
"When you're activated off PUP you can start integrating team stuff, walkthrough stuff. And you have to control it, how the people into the performance staff want to control it, whether it be a rep count, whether they want it to be limited early on and no contact. It's not just throw you into the deep end and see how you swim. Everything is a gradual process in terms of this rehab. It's the toughest thing I've ever gone through as a football player. But I'm excited for where I'm at."
If Ertz does suit up in Week 1 he'll be catching passes from a quarterback he's never played with before, as either Josh Dobbs or Clayton Tune will get the start in Arizona.
When asked how he adjusts to a different quarterback, Ertz put the onus on himself to make life easier for whoever will be back there.
"I think for me, it's always been create as much separation as possible. Make the quarterback's job as easy as possible. And if I can get separation, I feel like we'll be able to be on the same page fairly quickly. I think Kyler and I were able to get on the same page fairly quickly because that's what I've been priding myself on for a long time," said Ertz.
"If I can get open it's about speaking the same language with the quarterback. What does he anticipate me doing against certain looks? There's a lot of communication on the side that takes place in between reps. How does he want routes versus certain coverages? Because at the end of the day, I see one thing but it's really irrelevant with how I see things. I have a small percentage of say, all that matters is what the quarterback sees.
"I feel like if you can play on the quarterbacks timing, be where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there, you got to make his job easy because he's got 10 other people to worry about where I just worry about myself most of the time in terms of getting open or blocking this guy. They got to make sure 11 guys are going in the same direction. So for me, I try and make the job easier for the quarterback to be as open as I possibly can."
The Cardinals will open their season on the road against the Washington Commanders.
