Arizona Cardinals TE Zach Ertz explains his long road to recovery from a torn ACL
The Arizona Cardinals were 10 games into their season last year and although the team might have been struggling overall, veteran tight end Zach Ertz was thriving as usual.
With 47 receptions for 406 yards, he was on pace to finish with 70 catches for the seventh time in his career and 700 yards for the eighth time, something only Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Travis Kelce have been able to accomplish among tight ends in NFL history.
And in the NFL, there’s an old saying that players have come to learn and unfortunately, embrace:
“In the NFL,” Ertz said, “there’s a 100 percent chance of getting injured.”
Sure enough, as Ertz was completing a catch on a simple crossing route on Nov. 13 at the Rams, he was met in the open field by linebacker Bobby Wagner. The collision resulted in Ertz suffering a partially torn ACL and a completely torn MCL in his knee.
A month later, quarterback Kyler Murray also was lost for the remainder of the season upon suffering a torn ACL during a non-contact injury against the Patriots. Unlike Murray, however, Ertz stands a very good chance of being able to be in the starting lineup for this year’s season opener at the Commanders on Sept. 10.
“Yeah, Week 1 is obviously the goal,” Ertz said earlier this offseason. “That’s about 10 months almost post-injury. Unfortunately, rehabs aren’t linear progressions, so you can’t make bold statements like, ‘Hey, I’m going to be 100 percent, I’m going to be my old self Week 1.’ But I’m doing everything I can to put the best version of myself on the field each and every day and hopefully, that ends up with me being ready to go Week 1.”
For that to happen, there’s the little matter of being able to participate in training camp, which begins on Tuesday when the Cardinals report to State Farm Stadium.
“I mean, in order to play Week 1, I need to practice,” Ertz said. “I’m not a guy that does one week or two weeks of practice and feel like I’m ready for Week 1. I love the practicing part of the game and for me, it’s all part of the process and the journey and so my goal is to definitely practice during training camp.”
Exactly how much work Ertz will be able to get remains unclear at this point, although he said all signs are pointing in the right direction and that he, the coaching staff and training staff have been extremely pleased with the progress he’s been able to make.
Not that it was easy, though.
“It’s been the toughest injury I’ve ever dealt with,” Ertz said. “There’s a lot of alone time, a lot of time where things just progress very slowly. But I’ve had a really good support system around me, my wife has been incredible, and obviously having a son has been game-changing for me. Every time I come home, he doesn’t really care about the knee injury. He just wants dad to be a good dad and so for me, it’s been a blessing obviously for many reasons to have him here.”
The road to recovery from a torn ACL is a long, arduous journey comprised of small accomplishments, minor setbacks and gradual improvements. As Ertz says, “It’s all a progression.”
“You start at Square 1 and build this thing back. You’ve got to essentially learn how to walk again after surgery. And then it’s learning how to run again. And then it’s progressing on the field and then you move on to 45-degree cuts and then 90-degree cuts and then it’s doing more and more in the weight room.
“I have a really good team around me. (Strength coach) Buddy Morris is pretty much doing everything for me in the weight room right now. I’ve got a PT (personal trainer) as well and so for me, I feel like if I do everything I possibly can to be the best rehab patient I can be, I guess, those two guys are taking care of it.”
Dealing with 'doubt that creeps in'
As helpful as everyone has been during Ertz’s rehab, it was the inner battles he faced within his own mind that may have left him the most wounded.
“Yeah, there’s so many different aspects to a rehab,” he said. “The physical is obviously what everyone sees. The mental is something that you deal with every day. There’s doubt that creeps in like, ‘How long is this going to take? Why isn’t this progressing the way I want it to? I want to be here already.’
“All those thoughts kind of creep in and everyone kind of latches onto something. For me, that’s my faith. That is something that has been paramount to me throughout my NFL career — when I dedicated my life to Christ. That has been the foundation I’ve been able to lean on. I know God didn’t bring me this far just to bring me this far and that is something I’ve been really holding on to during this process. Everybody’s got something and for me, that’s my faith.”
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Ertz and Murray have discussed and dissected their rehabs with each other since both players have spent a considerable amount of time together at the Cardinals’ Tempe training facility. The talks and dialogues haven’t led to any earth-shattering new approaches, however.
“Every knee injury is different,” Ertz said. “The mental side is very similar, but the physical side is different. For us, it’s just keeping each other going. I’m about five to six weeks ahead of him based on time of surgery and I’m able to help him more so than he’s probably able to help me, based on the physical recovery.
“But we’re also dealing with different people, dealing with different surgeons, so everyone’s got different programs. No two rehabs are the same. No two people are the same. No two teams are the same. For us, it’s more the mental side that we’re able to help each other with more so than the physical side.”
Like a lot of his teammates, Ertz watched in amazement when defensive end J.J. Watt worked his way back from a totally shredded left shoulder to appear in the NFC Wild Card game following the conclusion of the 2021 season. Watt was relentless and then spent the entire following offseason at the Cardinals’ facility to continue strengthening his arm.
It was a motivational reminder for Ertz on how to stay completely engaged and drive through the pain and uncertainty of his own injury.
“J.J. is someone I love being around. Obviously, our friendship will go much longer than the two years we were here together,” Ertz said, adding, “A lot of that friendship was just the way we view our sports and the way we attack certain things and so seeing J.J. rehab last year from the shoulder injury and being able to play in the playoff game was inspiring to all the guys around there then.
“I view my injury the same. I’m doing everything I can to put myself in a position to get back to myself as soon as possible and be better than the player I was last year before I got hurt. That’s the goal every day. Obviously, when you rehab, you’re able to focus more on things and give more attention to things you’re not going to give to if you’re 100 percent.
“I’m really progressing well, everyone’s happy and I’m excited.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals' Zach Ertz discusses what rehab from ACL is like
