Fansided

Eagles trade Zach Ertz to Arizona Cardinals for Tay Gowan, 2022 draft pick

By Matt Lombardo

Oct 14, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz (86) celebrates his touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 14, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz (86) celebrates his touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia Eagles traded veteran tight end, Zach Ertz, to the Arizona Cardinals Friday 

The Philadelphia Eagles traded tight end, Zach Ertz, to the Arizona Cardinals Friday, in exchange for cornerback Tay Gowan and a 2022 fifth-round draft choice.

News of the trade was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Ertz in recent weeks had grown eager to be traded to a contender, league sources tell FanSided, and the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals represent a chance for the veteran tight end to make a run at a second Super Bowl run.

The Cardinals’ need for a tight end was exasperated last week when Maxx Williams suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 5.

One of the most accomplished players in Eagles’ franchise history, Ertz caught the game-winning touchdown in Philadelphia’s lone Super Bowl victory, over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.

Through the first five games of this season, Ertz caught 14 of his 23 targets for 160 yards and a touchdown, but Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had a passer rating of just 78.2 when targeting the 30-year-old.

Zach Ertz has been one of the greatest tight ends in Eagles franchise history

Ertz, who has caught 579 passes for 6,267 yards and 38 touchdowns, departs Philadelphia five receptions shy of Harold Carmichael’s franchise record 584 receptions. He now joins a high-flying Arizona Cardinals offense led by quarterback Kyler Murray that boasts DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk at WR and currently ranks sixth in the NFL in total offense, while averaging 413.2 yards per game.

Monday night, in his final game with the Eagles, Ertz caught four passes for 29 yards and a touchdown.

Ertz had become expendable in Philadelphia, after the arrival of Dallas Goedert as the organizations’ second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, the Eagles’ desperate need for help in the secondary was brought to the fore in Thursday night’s 28-22 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Philadelphia had been shopping for cornerbacks in recent weeks, and found a partner in the Cardinals, aiming to move Gowan.

Gowan, 23, was chosen by the Cardinals in the sixth-round of this spring’s NFL Draft, but didn’t play a snap for the undefeated Cardinals prior to Friday’s trade.

Matt Lombardo is FanSided’s National NFL Insider and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday. Email Matt: Matt.Lombardo@FanSided.com.

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