With injuries mounting in the tight end room, the Philadelphia Eagles reunited with franchise legend Zach Ertz to add another experienced weapon. While his impact will certainly be felt on the field, the Eagles appear to have high expectations for the role he can play off it, placing him next to rookie tight end Eli Stowers in the locker room, a responsibility Ertz is clearly aware of and excited to embrace.
“I don’t think it’s an accident that they put me here. Excited to work with him; we have the same agent, so I’ve heard a lot about his story, a lot about the talent that he has…. Everyone’s got a superpower in this league, and he’s got to play to his superpower, and I’m looking forward to helping him kind of unlock that mentality [and] physically to be at his best. I’ve really embraced that role in the later stages of my football life.”
Now in his 13th season, his NFL career started in the City of Brotherly Love, drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. Ertz spent over eight seasons with the Eagles, earning three Pro Bowl nods. His highest peak came in 2018, when he was instrumental in the Eagles winning the Super Bowl, while ranking second in the NFL with 116 catches.
Ertz’s initial stint ended with the Eagles in 2021 as Dallas Goedert came into his own, ready to take the mantle as the long-time starting tight end.
“The biggest thing was his work ethic, how he came to work every day,” Goedert said. “Me and him had a good relationship — and it was a competing relationship. You know, we both wanted the ball, and we both wanted everything like that. Just see if I could — you know, it was greatness pushing greatness. Every day, we went out and battled and kept making each other better.”
Now, he returns to the Eagles after five seasons to mentor Stowers, a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft who hopes to be the answer at tight end for years to come. Stowers has had a rocky start to his NFL career, struggling to create separation, and his preexisting blocking issues were exemplified against NFL-level defenders. He faced another setback, being placed on the injured reserve list due to hamstring and quadriceps injuries.
There aren’t many players better suited for Stowers to learn from than Ertz: both as highly selected tight ends and Ertz’s experience dealing with the pressure of playing in Philadelphia, from both the media and the fans. It also helps that Ertz is one of the best tight ends to ever play. There is no doubt that sitting next to Ertz, watching him practice and picking his brain will make Stowers a better football player and set him up for a successful career.
