Zach Ertz tore his ACL and MCL nearly nine months ago for the Arizona Cardinals. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, he has been for cleared for all football activities. Ertz is on track to be ready for Week 1 for the Arizona Cardinals.
The Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 will face the Washington Commanders on the road in Jonathan Gannon’s debut as head coach. Zach Ertz will be a huge part of Arizona’s offense heading into the 2023 season. A season ago, he was on pace for 86 catches, 745 yards receiving, and 8 touchdowns before injuring his knee in Week 10 during the 2022 regular season.
Almost nine months after tearing his ACL and MCL, #AZCardinals TE Zach Ertz has been cleared for full football activity and is on track to start Week 1, source says. The three-time Pro Bowler was on pace for 86 catches, 745 yards and 8 TDs before injuring his knee in Week 10. pic.twitter.com/r3QjvQuF5j
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 14, 2023
In 10 games last season for the Arizona Cardinals, Zach Ertz caught 47 passes for 406 yards receiving and four touchdowns. Throughout his NFL career up to this point, he has played in 144 games and has caught 682 passes for 7,247 yards receiving and 45 touchdowns.
One of the interesting things about Zach Ertz is that once he is activated of the PUP list for the Arizona Cardinals, the only player remaining on that list for Arizona will be quarterback Kyler Murray. He will not be the starting quarterback to start the season and it will most likely be Colt McCoy.
Even with the Arizona Cardinals being healthy for the most part, they are projected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this upcoming season.
Zach Ertz Key Component In Arizona Cardinals Offense
With Zach Ertz returning in the Arizona Cardinals offense, he will be the starting tight end for them and is one of the top targets in the offense. The current starting tight end before then was Trey McBride. McBridge caught 29 passes for 265 yards receiving and one touchdown a season ago. He averaged 9.1 yards per reception and maybe the Arizona Cardinals will use two tight ends in this offense.
However, Zach Ertz is an NFL Veteran and 32 years old. He is one of the most reliable tight ends in the NFL. Ertz is still under contract with the Arizona Cardinals for another couple of years, according to Spotrac.
