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Zach Ertz Injury History & Updates

Basic StatsZach Ertz’s Basic Stats

Zach Ertz
ADP: N/A
Bye: 14
Experience: 11
Age: 34.0
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 250
40 Time: 4.76
Speed Score: 97.80

SPARQx (Rank): 113.80 (73%)
Burst Score (Rank): 119.10 (61%)
Agility Score (Rank): 11.55 (53%)
Catch Radius (Rank): 10.03 (58%)

Injury PredictorZach Ertz's Injury Guide

Very High Risk

Chance of Injury in 2024

83.6%

% chance misses at least 2 quarters

Chance of Injury per Game

10.1%

1- 17√1-% Inj/Season

Projected Games Missed 2024

3.40

Durability

5.00

Ability to produce despire relatively minor injuries. 5 being most durable

Injury analysis powered by Draft Sharks Injury Guide, formerly SIP Logo

Injury History

Date League Injury Details
Oct 29, 2011 Non-NFL Knee Patella Sprain In college, Ertz injured his knee against USC and missed the next 3 games.
Aug 11, 2015 NFL Inguinal Groin Tear Grade 3 Ertz underwent surgery but returned for Week 1.
Sep 11, 2016 NFL Chest Rib Separation Ertz took a hard hit and suffered displaced ribs, sidelining him for the next two weeks.
Nov 22, 2015 NFL Head Cranial Concussion Grade 1 Ertz missed 1 game after getting concussed against Tampa Bay.
Nov 2, 2017 NFL Thigh Hamstring Sprain/Pull Unspecified Grade 1 Ertz missed 1 game after pulling his hamstring at a Thursday practice.
Dec 3, 2017 NFL Head Cranial Concussion Grade 1 Ertz took a heavy hit and suffered a concussion in the 3rd quarter vs. Seattle. He sat out 1 game.
Dec 22, 2019 NFL Abdomen Kidney Lacerated Ertz suffered a lacerated kidney in the Week 16 win over the Cowboys. He was ruled out for the next game
Dec 22, 2019 NFL Chest Rib Fracture Ertz sustained a fractured rib in Week 16's win against the Cowboys. He missed the next game
Oct 18, 2020 NFL Pedal Ankle (high) Sprain Grade 3 Ertz suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 6's contest against the Ravens. He missed 5 games
Sep 12, 2021 NFL Thigh Hamstring Sprain/Pull Unspecified Grade 1 Ertz injured his hamstring in Week 1's game against the Falcons and managed to finish the game
Aug 3, 2022 NFL Leg Calf Strain Ertz was forced out of Thursday's practice with a calf injury, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.
Nov 13, 2022 NFL Knee MCL Tear Grade 3 Ertz was carted off in the 1st quarter.
Nov 13, 2022 NFL Knee ACL Tear Grade 3 Ertz also suffered a torn MCL in Week 10.
Oct 22, 2023 NFL Leg Quad Strain Ertz sustained a quad strain in Week 7. He was placed on IR and didn't play again in the 2023 season.

Basic StatsZach Ertz's Preseason Player Analysis

View TE Fantasy Rankings »

Bottom Line

At 34 (in November), Ertz is well past his prime.

There’s an opportunity waiting for him in Washington – if he can hold off Round 2 pick Ben Sinnott.

Even then… is there enough for Ertz to rise beyond the status of deep-league spot starter?

Given the improved TE landscape -- and Ertz's recent form -- we’ll say no.

What We Learned Last Year

  • Ertz began last year on the Cardinals. However, he never played alongside Kyler Murray, who returned in Week 10.
    • The former Eagle saw games of 10, 10, and 8 targets. But he was highly inefficient with .95 yards per route run and 6.9 yards per catch.
  • Ertz was released in November after a mid-season quad injury.
  • Detroit scooped him up in January, but he never suited up for a game.

What to Expect in 2024

  • Washington signed Ertz to a one-year deal in March.
  • The move reunites him with his HC in Arizona (and new OC) Kliff Kingsbury.
    • Familiarity with the offense is helpful. Just note: In four years as Arizona’s HC, Kingsbury’s units targeted TEs at a clip of 15.3%.
    • For context, that would have ranked 28th in the league last year.
  • Here’s Ertz on signing with Washington:
    • "Kliff has been a huge part of my success the past few years in Arizona and so when he got the job in Washington and I was a free agent, it was very easy for me to say, 'hey, this is a place that I would love to play for,'" he said. "They've essentially redone the entire building since I came into the league. New owner, new GM, a new head coach and I've never heard anyone say a bad word about Dan Quinn and so I'm extremely excited to play for him and to get back on the East Coast is going to be fun."
  • Washington used a Round 2 pick on Kansas State TE Ben Sinnott, a highly athletic prospect at nearly 6’4, 250.
  • The Ertz-Sinnott duo figures to platoon work to replace the 78 targets left behind by Logan Thomas.

Recent Injury Bites View All Shark Bites »

Zach Ertz, TE WAS

12:38pm EDT 10/24/23

Zach Ertz strains quad, heads to IR

The Cardinals are placing TE Zach Ertz on IR with a quad strain he suffered in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks. That knocks the veteran out for at least the next four games and vaults TE Trey McBride into fantasy relevance. The second-year TE has been disappointing so far, averaging just 2.1 receptions per game and trailing the 32-year-old Ertz in usage. But McBride's route participation picked up the past two weeks and figures to take an even bigger jump now. He has already ranked second on the year in yards per route among TEs with 20+ targets -- tied with Jonnu Smith and ahead of Mark Andrews and Sam LaPorta, among others.

View all Zach Ertz Shark Bites »

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (knee) is expected to play vs. the Commanders today, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It'll be Ertz's first game action since November's multi-ligament knee injury. Ertz is not a viable Week 1 fantasy play. His presence should also knock TE Trey McBride out of fantasy consideration.

View all Zach Ertz Shark Bites »

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Commanders. He was limited in practice all week, after being activated from the PUP list in mid-August off his November ACL and MCL tears. Ertz should not be in your Week 1 fantasy plans. His absence would be a boost to TE Trey McBride’s fantasy value.

View all Zach Ertz Shark Bites »

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (knee) was limited in Wednesday's practice. He was activated from the PUP list about three weeks ago, but it's still unclear if he'll play in the season opener vs. Washington on Sunday. Ertz should not be in your Week 1 fantasy plans. His absence would make TE Trey McBride a slightly more appealing play.

View all Zach Ertz Shark Bites »

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (ACL rehab) said he’s unsure about playing Week 1. “Still some things I need to go through ... I need to see how I recover and practice consistent days in a row,” the 32-year-old said. “I gotta earn the trust of my teammates, the coaches, I don't expect them to just plug me in there and say 'this is Zach, for the past 10 years, he's gonna be the same in year 11,'" Ertz said. "I look forward to proving myself each and every day. And whether that's game one, game three, whenever I'm out there, I expect to be a difference maker.” Visit the TE rankings, and you'll see Ertz is currently projected for 13 games.

View all Zach Ertz Shark Bites »

How do Injuries impact your draft strategy?

For us, it's 1/17th of the equation. Hear us out.

The Draft War Room is the only live-sync draft tool that monitors 17 crucial in-draft indicators, including injury likelihood… and adapts to show you which players to pick throughout your draft.

See how we built the 17 indicators into our Draft War Room »
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