![\"zach-ertz-commanders.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/zach-ertz-commanders.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz<\/a> plans to play in 2026 for what will be his 14th NFL<\/a> season, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reports<\/a>. Ertz, 35, will be a free agent. He is coming off a torn ACL he suffered in Week 14 against the Minnesota Vikings<\/a> but is expected to be cleared around Week 1, per Pelissero’s report.<\/p>\n A second-round pick in 2013, Ertz spent his first eight-plus seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> before getting traded to the Arizona Cardinals<\/a> midway through the 2021 season. Ertz struggled with injuries in both 2022 and 2023 and, at 34, appeared to be nearing the end of his career.<\/p>\n He landed with the Washington Commanders<\/a> on a one-year deal in 2024 and showed he still had plenty left in the tank. Brought in mostly to be a reliable veteran presence for then-rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels<\/a>, Ertz played in all 17 games and registered 66 catches for 654 yards and seven touchdowns, his most scores since 2019. He added 18 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs as Washington made the NFC Championship Game for the first time in over three decades.<\/p>\n Ertz returned to Washington in 2025 and was having another solid campaign — 50 catches for 504 yards and four touchdowns — before a\u00a0tough hit to his knee ended his season<\/a>.<\/p>\n It won’t end his career, though. His recovery from the ACL injury is key, of course, but Ertz when last healthy was still a reliable target in the short and intermediate passing games who ran precise routes. At 6-foo-5 and 250 pounds, he has the size to box out smaller defenders and win over the middle of the field and in the red zone. That — plus his experience and historic track record — should earn him some looks on the free-agent market, even if it’s on a one-year deal.<\/p>\n Receptions<\/p>\n 825<\/p>\n 5th<\/p>\n Receiving yards<\/p>\n 8,592<\/p>\n 8th<\/p>\n Receiving touchdowns<\/p>\n 57<\/p>\n 10th<\/p>\n Zach Ertz landing spotsWith Dallas Goedert<\/a> set to hit free agency, a reunion with the Eagles could make sense. Ertz would be a reliable, consistent addition for a passing attack that was far too inconsistent in 2025.A return to the Commanders could be in the cards, as Ertz and Daniels have developed a strong bond on and off the field. Still, Washington coach Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters emphasized getting younger and faster this offseason, and Ertz doesn’t fit either bill.Should Travis Kelce<\/a> call it a career, Ertz could be a fit for the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>. Patrick Mahomes<\/a> has always had a reliable pass catcher at tight end. Though Ertz is more of a quick-game target than Kelce — and not dynamic with the ball in his hands — there are some parallels. Plus, if Ertz wants to join a potential Super Bowl<\/a> contender, Kansas City fits the bill.Any team with a young quarterback (or simply a young roster) could use a veteran presence such as Ertz. Among teams that come to mind quickly are the Tennessee Titans<\/a> with Cam Ward<\/a> and the New York Giants<\/a> with Jaxson Dart<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Images Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz plans to play in 2026 for what will be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":773557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2069],"tags":[390,127,427,3395,7,13,734,110,259,56,6,499,109,394,500,855,111,2480,7025,109725,109728,109727,109726],"class_list":{"0":"post-773556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-commanders","8":"tag-arizona-cardinals","9":"tag-cam-ward","10":"tag-commanders","11":"tag-dallas-goedert","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-jaxson-dart","14":"tag-jayden-daniels","15":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","16":"tag-minnesota-vikings","17":"tag-new-york-giants","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-patrick-mahomes","20":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","21":"tag-tennessee-titans","22":"tag-travis-kelce","23":"tag-washington","24":"tag-washington-commanders","25":"tag-washingtoncommanders","26":"tag-zach-ertz","27":"tag-zach-ertz-free-agency","28":"tag-zach-ertz-return","29":"tag-zach-ertz-rumors","30":"tag-zach-ertz-team"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116126486152386151","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=773556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}