The Philadelphia Eagles made their first move since hiring head coach Doug Pederson. Tight end Zach Ertz was signed to a five-year, $42.5 million extension Monday morning. Ertz is guaranteed $20 million in the deal. The deal will keep him in Philadelphia through 2021.
Zach Ertz’s 5-year, $42.5M contract extension with $20M in guarantees from the Eagles makes him the NFL’s 4th highest paid TE.
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) January 25, 2016
“I couldn’t be more proud to be putting that work in for the Eagles, and for the city of Philadelphia. My sincerest thank you to Mr. Lurie and the rest of the organization for making this commitment to me. I am committed to doing everything I can to be the best player I can be, and to help our team get back to the Super Bowl and win it.” Ertz said in a blog post this morning.
Ertz wasn’t the only one to show excitement about staying with the team. Many former and current Eagles players took to Twitter to show their support.
Congrats @ZERTZ_86 !!! Much deserved bro! Glad our battles at practice will continue lol https://t.co/lsMLp6RmXX
— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) January 25, 2016
Ok @ZERTZ_86 I see you….congrats!
— Jeremy Maclin (@jmac___19) January 25, 2016
Zach Ertz was drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Since being drafted, Ertz has 169 catches for 2,024 yards and nine touchdowns during his three-year career. He most recently set career-highs with 75 receptions and 853 receiving yards this past season. Ertz saw himself improve dramatically over the last four weeks of the season. He caught 35 passes for 450 yards, which lead all NFL tight ends during that stretch and only trailed behind two of the best receivers in the game, Julio Jones and Antonio Brown. He had a career game in the team’s season finale against the Giants where he caught nine passes for 152 yards, the most of his young career.
Ertz is expected to be a vital piece of the Philadelphia Eagles for the foreseeable future.
What a day! #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/T9PaXhuvQ6
— Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) January 25, 2016