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Zach Ertz Was Nearly Traded to Bills Before Landing With Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals TE Zach Ertz was nearly a Buffalo Bill.

Though he hasn't been with the Arizona Cardinals long, it's tough to envision the team not having the talents of tight end Zach Ertz. 

Ertz was acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles for a fifth-round pick and Tay Gowan shortly following the torn ACL of Maxx Williams in mid October of 2021. 

The three-time Pro Bowl tight end suffered a season-ending knee injury last season but hopes to be ready to go at some point in 2023. 

Ertz (32-years-old) not only brings talent to the roster but also leadership to the locker room, a key ingredient for a Cardinals team in the early stages of their rebuild. 

Yet Ertz's presence in the desert almost didn't come to fruition, as he was nearly traded to the Buffalo Bills. 

“I was getting traded out of Philadelphia,” Ertz said to The Buffalo News. "There were a couple teams extremely interested, Buffalo being one of them. It was almost a done deal, but it just didn’t get over the finish line.”

Ertz also mentioned that one person in Philadelphia blocked the potential trade to Buffalo. The Buffalo News suggests that could be general manager Howie Roseman. 

The Cardinals drafted Trey McBride in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, positioning the team for the future while also giving the team a strong one-two punch at the position with Ertz. 

Ertz signed a three-year extension last offseason. 

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