Zach Ertz is one of the best tight ends in the NFL, so it came as no surprise when he was traded to Philadelphia. But there’s a catch. The Eagles are currently trying to trade their backup quarterback Nick Foles, so they may already have bought Ertz’s ticket out of town.
The flights to philadelphia is a story about the Eagles’ Zach Ertz and how he may have already been able to buy a plane ticket out of Philadelphia.
Only three weeks remain before the start of the new NFL season, and Zach Ertz is still a Philadelphia Eagle.
That may not be the case for long, as a lesser-known tight end has been surprising everyone in training camp. Tyree Jackson, who played quarterback in college before switching to tight end, has been the talk of Philadelphia this summer, and he may have just bought Ertz’s long-awaited airline ticket out of town.
Zach Ertz is still looking to leave Philadelphia.
Tight end with the Philadelphia Eagles Before a preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Zach Ertz walks onto the field | Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
After the 2020-21 season, Ertz assumed he’d be bidding his last goodbyes to his old teammates. He lingered on the sidelines after the last regular-season game, chatting with Carson Wentz and Jason Kelce in what seemed to be the trio’s final meeting inside Lincoln Financial Field. Even at what he believed was his goodbye news conference the next day, Ertz teared up.
But here he is, seven months later, still on the Eagles’ roster, with Week 1 fast approaching.
The Eagles have approached clubs about trading Ertz this summer, but they have been unsatisfied with the offers they have received. With the offense in Philadelphia growing younger and Dallas Goedert ready to make the formal move to starting TE this season, keeping a 30-year-old Ertz around with a $12.7 million salary cost this season doesn’t make much sense. The team, on the other hand, isn’t going to sell him for pennies on the dollar.
Ertz has been a team player in recent weeks, attending training camp and even participating in the club’s first preseason game last week, but he may be traded at any time.
Tyree Jackson has emerged as the Eagles’ training camp’s unexpected standout.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding Ertz’s future in Philadelphia, the Eagles signed Jackson earlier this summer to provide depth to the tight end position. If you don’t recognize him as an NFL tight end, it’s because you haven’t heard his name before.
Jackson used to be a quarterback, but that was just a few months ago. As a three-year starter at the University of Buffalo, he passed for over 7,000 yards and 49 touchdowns. He signed with the Buffalo Bills after going undrafted in 2019, however he did not make the 53-man roster as a quarterback. After being selected by the DC Defenders in 2020, Jackson moved his skills to the XFL, although he didn’t have much success there either.
A year later, Jackson chose to convert from quarterback to tight end, following in the footsteps of Logan Thomas, and he seems to be a natural at it. This summer, the 6-foot-7, 250-pound unicorn of an athlete has been the unexpected star of Eagles training camp. He’s been dominating individual drills at practice on a regular basis, and in his preseason debut last week, he produced two great receptions for 32 total yards.
You’d never think, based on numerous practice accounts from Eagles beat reporters over the past several weeks, that Jackson has only been playing tight end for about a year. With final cuts just over two weeks away, the quarterback-turned-tight end has a far better chance than anybody could have predicted of making the 53-man roster.
And, if the Eagles are wise, they’ll retain Jackson while trading for additional draft choices in exchange for Zach Ertz.
Ertz’s airline ticket out of Philadelphia might be Jackson’s strong camp.
It’s a crazy ride. Tyree Jackson was a college quarterback. He already seems to be a tight end who is ready to contribute and play immediately for the #Eagles.
August 13, 2021 — Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks)
Ertz has been eagerly waiting for a ticket out of Philly for months, and thanks to Jackson, he may have finally found one. Imagine what the former quarterback will look like in a year or two if he continues to perform like this in his first summer in his new position.
Jackson is still a young man, just 23 years old. This season, he is only owed $660,000 in basic pay, compared to $8.5 million for Ertz. With each catch Jackson makes in camp, his choice becomes more and more obvious.
NFL safeties and cornerbacks can’t cover him because he’s just too large. Linebackers can’t keep up with him down the field because he’s too quick. Jackson’s potential as a tight end is limitless with additional coaching and repetitions at his new position. He’s also in a great position to learn from Goedert and Richard Rodgers as he gradually works his way through the playbook.
Even though the suggested trade package isn’t exactly what the Eagles were hoping for going into the summer, the club must find a way to get rid of Ertz before the start of the season.
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