Eagles Ex Zach Ertz Trade to Bills 'Was Almost a Done Deal,' But His Heart Remains in Philly
PHILADELPHIA – Zach Ertz knew he was going to be leaving the Philadelphia Eagles in the days leading up to the trade deadline in 2021.
He just didn’t know where.
He ended up in Arizona, though he recently told the Buffalo News that the Bills were one of the frontrunners.
Ertz has been gone for nearly two years now, but his heart remains in Philadelphia.
On May 4, he and his wife Julie Ertz, through the Ertz Family Foundation, Grace & Peace Community Fellowship, and several partnerships opened a renovated building in the Hunting Park section of Philadelphia.
The project, which was three years in the making, is called the House of Hope and is designed to help struggling inner-city youth, where kids can come to eat, be tutored, and mentored, play sports, and have wifi access.
"We're excited about this place, it's gonna be a place that gives hope and joy,” Ertz told a Philadelphia television station. “People can come and have peace to learn.
"Obviously we want to help as many kids as possible that's been the goal we set out. At the same time, if we're able to impact at least one kid, we've achieved so much.”
Ertz spent the first nine years of his career with the Eagles arriving as a second-round pick in 2013.
It had become increasingly clear that marriage was headed for an amicable divorce, with Ertz needing a new contract that the Eagles simply weren’t going to pay with Dallas Goedert emerging as one of the league’s top tight ends.
Plenty of teams were negotiating with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman leading up to the trade deadline in 2021, but there was one above all that nearly pulled it off, and that was the Buffalo Bills.
“I was getting traded out of Philadelphia,” Ertz recently told 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 believed the finish line was blocked by someone within the Eagles’ organization, perhaps even Roseman himself.
The general manager ended up trading Ertz to the Arizona Cardinals for cornerback Tay Gowan, who is now on the roster of the Minnesota Vikings, and a fifth-round pick in 2022.
Perhaps it was Roseman who blocked a deal to Buffalo, but he did something unique with the trade.
He told the tight end he was being traded to Arizona the night before the Eagles went out and played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a Thursday night game.
The decision to do that gave Ertz an opportunity to savor his final game wearing an Eagles uniform, playing with his teammates and in front of the fans in a city that embraced him and he embraced right back.
It was a risk for the Eagles, however, knowing Ertz could suffer an injury and the deal would be called off.
“I think just talking through with Zach and understanding here you are, and you get to experience this and embrace everything that comes with it, not many people get an opportunity to do that,” said Roseman then. “I think we agreed that was special for him.
“I think someone asked me what happens if something happens to him during the game and I said that’s the chance we are willing to take, because it was special for him…it was special for him to come out on a nationally televised game, in front of our fans, as a captain, be introduced, and I get kind of chills just thinking about it.”
Ertz signed a three-year contract extension with the Cardinals last offseason, a deal that ends when he turns 34.
Perhaps the Eagles could be interested in running it back with him for one more season to let him become the franchise’s all-time leading receptions leader.
It’s probably a longshot, but the tight end left Philly just 10 catches shy of passing Hall of Fame receiver Harold Carmichael for the most receptions in team history.
Carmichael had 589; Ertz left for Arizona with 579.
Ertz has been productive in the desert. Despite suffering a knee injury in Week 11 last year, he has 103 catches for 980 yards and seven touchdowns in just 21 games.
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Philadelphia Eagles? Click Here.
Want even more Philadelphia Eagles news? Check out the SI.com team page here
