Loyalty Needs to Become Business for Zach Ertz

On the same day the Eagles finally buckled to Jason Peters, another locker-room leader admitted some concern when it comes to his future

PHILADELPHIA — On the same day the Eagles finally buckled to Jason Peters, another locker-room leader admitted some concern when it comes to his future in Philadelphia, Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz.

Ertz intimated that 2020 could be his last season in Philadelphia in the wake of negotiations between his agent Steve Caric and Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman breaking down a few weeks ago.

There's still plenty of time for fences to be mended and egos to be soothed because Ertz is under contract through 2021 but the short-term impact of the Eagles insisting on a team-friendly extension rather than using recently-signed deals by San Francisco's George Kittle and Kansas City's Travis Kelce as benchmarks have weighed heavily on Ertz, Carson Wentz's favorite target.

"During training camp it kinda got the best of me a day or two and I really just had to talk to a couple people and kind of reset my mind," said Ertz on Thursday.

The thought process from the Ertz camp is that the Eagles will likely try to spin off Ertz in favor of the presumably cheaper option at tight end, Dallas Goedert, and revert to playing more 11 personnel, especially if young receivers like Jalen Reagor and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside begin to develop.

The latter is certainly Doug Pederson's default setting as a coach and the organization believes, probably rightly so, that the modern game demands more WRs on the field.

"I think you guys know me over the years. I'm kind of an emotional guy when it comes to football," said Ertz. "I kind of play with my heart as much as I can. Obviously, it's been frustrating at times, it's been difficult. I said all along I want to be here for the long run. I don't know for sure and if that feeling is mutual."

The Eagles are banking on Ertz's professionalism preventing any distraction in the short run and that's probably a good bet.

"I know I'm going play this year like it is my last year, and I'm gonna leave everything I possibly have in the tank for this team and the city," he said. "It's what this city deserves, nothing less."

Ertz also referenced his decision to play in January's playoff loss to Seattle despite suffering from cracked ribs and a lacerated kidney, perhaps as a gentle reminder to Roseman.

"I'm gonna do everything I can to give the city what it deserves and that's everything I possibly have even if it means playing with that lacerated kidney," he said. "Whatever it takes to win football games."

Kittle, 26, is almost universally regarded as the best and most complete TE in the NFL. He signed a five-year, $75 million extension with $40M in guarantees. Kelce, at 30, essentially the same age as Ertz who will turn 30 in November, is No. 2 in the pecking order and got four years and just over $57M with over $20M in guaranteed money. Ertz should fit in comfortably behind Kelce in a normal situation.

There are issues, however, in that few teams have backups like Goedert, who has a very high ceiling as a player, and Philadelphia is up against it from a salary-cap standpoint in 2021. And that's before factoring in the expected COVID-19 hit which is projected to send the cap south for the first time in league history.

Ertz is set to count $12.4M against the cap in both 2020 and 2021 and the Eagles are looking for some stop-gaps until at least 2022.

The re-worked deal for Peters, which was a hiccup compared to what Ertz would want, was only accomplished after Lane Jonson restructured in order to not throw off the tenuous 2021 budget.

In some ways, Ertz's emotions are hindering him. The organization understands he wants to stay, realizes how close he is to Wentz on an off the field, and is preying on his desire to have a Kobe Bryant-like run of playing with one team.

"I want to be here. I've never thought of playing in another city. My family loves it here," said Ertz. "My mom lives here. My brother is going to Temple. His fiance is going to school out here. So we have roots here now, this is home to me. I will never think about playing in another jersey until if that time were to come.

"You know I've always said from the moment I got here, I wanted to be like Kobe you know Kobe was a guy I always looked up to, Kobe Bryant, and he played with one organization, his entire career and that's kinda what my goal was to always do was play here."

The new goal needs to take more of a Peters tint. Loyalty is great but business comes first.

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM and every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SBNation Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Get the latest Eagles news by joining the community. Click "Follow" at the top right of EagleMaven page. Mobile users click the notification bell. And please follow @kracze on Twitter.