USA Today
Haason Reddick, Zach Ertz Aim to Show Former Teams What They Miss
PHILADELPHIA – Haason Reddick and Zach Ertz both want the same thing.
Both players want to show the team that drafted them what they miss and that they are doing well in their new cities, thank you very much.
Now the Cardinals tight end, Ertz won’t come out and say it, but he had a sly smile on his face when he was asked earlier in the week if he can become the first Cardinals TE to top 100 yards in a game in a single game since 1989.
“Yes,” he said, then paused for a few seconds and added, “I plan on doing it soon.”
No doubt he is aiming to do that on Sunday (4:25/FOX) when the Eagles go to Glendale to play the Cardinals.
With only one reception, Ertz will have one of those against all 32 teams in the NFL. He was 11 catches short of passing Hall of Fame WR Harold Carmichael for the most receptions in Eagles history before being traded last October.
Reddick, the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week, can’t wait to go back to Arizona.
“It’s always special to go back there," he said. "I always want to go back there just to show them what you guys let go. But I just like going back to see some of the guys that I played against, some of the coaches that had real love for me when I was there. And then of course some of the fans from when I was there.”
Ertz was drafted 35th overall in 2013 by the Eagles.
Four years later, Reddick was picked 13th overall by the Cardinals, one spot before Philly took Derek Barnett.
Unlike Ertz, who has never played against his former team and teammates before, Reddick has.
He returned to Arizona last year with the Carolina Panthers. Reddick’s Panthers dominated in a 34-10 win.
“Just don’t play uncharacteristic of myself,” he said when asked earlier in the week what went through his mind returning to Arizona in 2021. “You know? Don’t go out there and try to force plays because it’s the Cardinals and because I want to get after those guys. Just let them come to me.
“The same thing I’m preaching to my teammates this week. Do everything the right way and see what happens after that.”
Zach Ertz
Reddick made life miserable for Cardinals QB Kyler Murray in that game, just like he made life hard on the Eagles QB in two games against him.
“You’ve got to have a plan for him—there’s no doubt," said Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury. "It’s been great to see just his evolution and how he’s become one of the best pass rushers in the league.
"...he’s such a great person, to see the success he’s had. You’ve got to have a plan. He wrecked that game against Jacksonville last week creating those turnovers there late, so we’ve got to have some way to try and slow him down.”
Against Hurts in 2020, with Hurts making his second career start, Reddick sacked him once. He made four tackles and forced two fumbles.
Last year, while with the Panthers, Reddick had two sacks of Hurts for a combined loss of 16 yards to go along with eight tackles.
Against Murray last season, Reddick put up 1.5 sacks, hit Murray three times, forced a fumble, and made four tackles.
“Knowing who Kyler is, that he can make the plays, that he can use his feet and he has great arm power, which is undeniable, we just need to be ourselves,” said Reddick. “We just need to do what we do and do it well. That’s all.
"Just because Kyler’s back there we don’t need to get out of whack and start trying to do everything differently. Let’s just go out there, be us, be who we are and see if they’re good enough to beat us when we’re at our best when we’re doing our job and when we’ve been playing the way we’ve been playing.”
You know that’s precisely what Reddick will be doing, just as Ertz will try to do it against his former team as well.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
