Cardinals training camp roster preview: TE Zach Ertz
The Arizona Cardinals open training camp at the end of this month, so we will do a roster review, highlighting each player currently on the roster, going over last season, their salary and cap number, questions they face and what their expected roster status will be.
Next up is tight end Zach Ertz.
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2022 season
Ertz expected to have a big season in 2022 after landing a new three-year contract. He had tied the Cardinals’ single-season franchise record for receptions by a tight end with 57 in only 11 games in 2021 after he was acquired via trade, but his 2022 season ended prematurely.
He played in 10 games before tearing his ACL and MCL. He finished the season with 47 receptions for 406 yards and four touchdowns. He was on pace for about 80 catches, which would have set a new record for tight ends for the Cardinals.
2023 salary, cap hit
Ertz enters Year 2 of his three-year contract.
He will earn $8.76 million in salary this season. $8.5 million of it is guaranteed. He can earn up to $595,000 in per-game roster bonuses.
His cap hit in 2023 will be as high as $12.2 million.
Questions, challenges
The major question surrounding Ertz is whether he can make it back by Week 1. It will have been 10 months since the injury.
But he is turning 33 later this season and an injury like that can erase a player’s explosiveness.
Can he continue to be the reliable pass-catching target?
How will he look coming off the knee injury in a new offense?
Roster outlook
Ertz is a lock to make the roster and will be a starter. He is still one of the better tight ends in the game and, if he returns to form and Trey McBride takes the next steps in his development, the Cardinals will probably have the best tight end duo they have had in their history.
