Commanders sign Zach Ertz to 1 year deal

[MikeT14]

 

[MKnight82]

Weird. Would have rather just kept Thomas tbh. 

[4209]

I like it. He has esperience in KK offense. There should be more addition especially players who have connections to our new coaching staff.

Edited March 6 by 4209

[Slappy Mc]

1 hour ago, MKnight82 said:

Weird. Would have rather just kept Thomas tbh. 

Saved 6.54M by cutting Thomas and are paying a maximum of 5M for a better scheme fit player with knowledge of the system. 

Good move IMO

[e16bball]

He was a very good player some years back.

That’s all I got on this one.

[bigdog44]

I figured they’d acquire a couple veterans on both sides of the ball to help in installing the systems. Mitch Morse just got cut by Buffalo and has history with Bobby Johnson. I mean, someone is going to have to call the protections. 

[ARTMONK HOF]

I think Zach Ertz will be a decent addition. If he stays healthy, which has been an issue for him, he’ll be a pretty good pair of hands for the QB. If he doesn’t stay healthy then he doesn’t reach any incentives and he’s gone. I think it’s a low risk medium reward.  

[bigdog44]

Remember DQ has a long list of ex players. Not really hoping for guys like Bobby Wagner or Keanu Neal (may be retired), but someone or two along those lines Is definitely on the way

[Jeezy Fanatic]

Feels like a guy who ends up injured all year 

[turtle28]

I understand why they signed Ertz bc he knows Kingsbury’s offense & Kingsbury probably wanted him signed, but this feels like the Andrew Wylie/Bieniemy signing to me.

Ertz has been more injury prone than Thomas the last few years and unlike Thomas, Ertz has not bounced back from his torn ACL in 2022. 

I hope I'm wrong about this but at best this seems like push. I would've rather kept Thomas too like @MKnight82 said.

[turtle28]

4 hours ago, Slappy Mc said:

Saved 6.54M by cutting Thomas and are paying a maximum of 5M for a better scheme fit player with knowledge of the system. 

Good move IMO

Judging what Ertz has done since he tore his ACL in 2022, he hasn't bounced back as well as Logan Thomas has. I hope I'm wrong and he has a bounce back year but it doesn't seem worth the $1.54 mil in savings.

[turtle28]

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Cole Turner progresses enough that he wins the job instead of Ertz, maybe not for week 1 but maybe even for then. I don't think Ertz has much left in the tank.

Edited March 7 by turtle28

[Slappy Mc]

1 hour ago, turtle28 said:

Judging what Ertz has done since he tore his ACL in 2022, he hasn't bounced back as well as Logan Thomas has. I hope I'm wrong and he has a bounce back year but it doesn't seem worth the $1.54 mil in savings.

If Ertz sees all 5M of his contract it absolutely would be better. It's a one year deal worth UP TO 5M. So he would have to reach whatever incentives to receive the full 5M. This is, at the very least, a very smart business decision. 

[Slappy Mc]

1 hour ago, turtle28 said:

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Cole Turner progresses enough that he wins the job instead of Ertz, maybe not for week 1 but maybe even for then. I don't think Ertz has much left in the tank.

Someone has to step up. None of the current TEs, including Ertz, are TE1 caliber. I still think it's likely we see a TE drafted, but that depends on how the staff feels about Bates and Turner.

[e16bball]

I’ve given this some thought, and the one thing I can say for this signing is that I believe there are certain “thinking man” positions that require more savvy/mental ability than others. On offense, I think these positions are QB, C, and TE — defensively, it’s mostly LB and maybe some single-high safety roles — and I think that’s why those positions take longer to fully assimilate to the pro game.

I’ve seen a number of scenarios on the internet and elsewhere that would have us drafting a QB and then doing something like taking Ja’Tavion Sanders at 40 (or trading up for Bowers) and then trying to snag someone like Zach Frazier or Sedrick Van Pran at 67.

I like a lot of those players, but I really don’t like the concept of having rookies at all of those key positions that require a more cerebral approach. I don’t think that is a great way to help put a young QB in a position to succeed. 

In that way, signing a veteran like Ertz (who knows a lot of the concepts in the Kingsbury offense) makes a lot of sense. He can be reliably in the right place most of the time, and he can help the QB see things the right way. It does make him a better “safety blanket” than a lot of more physically capable players who would also be learning their way through a totally new system.

I think they may do the same with the C position, although I’m not sure there’s a direct line to either Kingsbury or Lynn available. Someone like Cushenberry would make a lot of sense as a “splurge,” just to put the most reliable structure possible around a rookie QB.