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Mic’d Up Video of Commanders TE Zach Ertz Crying After ACL Injury Is So Heartbreaking

Ertz couldn't hold back his emotions.

Kristen Wong

A mic'd up Zach Ertz was crying after suffering an ACL injury in the Commanders' loss to the Vikings.
A mic'd up Zach Ertz was crying after suffering an ACL injury in the Commanders' loss to the Vikings. / Screengrab on Twitter/ @espn
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Disaster struck for the Commanders in the second half of Sunday's loss to the Vikings when tight end Zach Ertz was on the end of a low hit and couldn't get up from the field.

Almost immediately, Ertz feared the worst, as heard in his mic'd up segment on the latest episode of Hard Knocks. Following the hit, Ertz had to be helped off the field and didn't seem to be able to put any weight on his right leg. When a teammate asked him if he was good, Ertz replied, "No, no."

"Bro, I don't think I can get up myself," Ertz told a trainer.

When he was placed on the cart and set to head into the locker room for further testing, Ertz could be heard crying as he covered his face with a towel. Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota was seen checking in on his tight end, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, and said, "Sorry."

Listen to that heartbreaking moment below:

So sad.

This felt like one of those moments that should be kept private, but Hard Knocks made the decision to air it as part of their ongoing NFC East series.

Tests confirmed the worst for Ertz: he suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee. The 35-year-old tight end later shared a positive message on Instagram with the caption, "Broken But Never Beaten."

Ertz recently passed Shannon Sharpe for fifth place on the NFL's all-time receptions list by a tight end, hauling in 50 catches for 504 yards and four touchdowns this season. He has 825 career catches across his 13 years in the league.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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