The Cardinals will host the Eagles on Sunday, which will be the first time Arizona tight end Zach Ertz faces his former team.
Philadelphia drafted Ertz in the second round of the 2013 draft and he played for the franchise until Arizona traded for him last October. On Thursday, Ertz said the emotion of playing against former teammates like Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, and Brandon Graham hasn’t quite hit yet. But those players in particular are teammates with whom he won Super Bowl LII over the Patriots.
“It becomes more of a relationship, care about them and their family,” Ertz said, via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. “So, from that perspective, it’s going to be good to see those guys. But, on the field, it’s going to be me versus their defense. It’s not going to be Zach versus the Eagles. We just got to go out there and play a really good football game.”
Ertz said he loved playing for the Eagles and was comfortable in his routine. But after he and Philadelphia could not agree on a new contract, Ertz was ready for the next challenge.
“When I kind of came to grips with that it wasn’t a real possibility, it was, ‘OK, let’s figure out what situations would be great for me,’ and Arizona was at the top of the list and this was even before the start of last year,” Ertz said. “And, so, for me, I’m ecstatic that I got traded here. My family is ecstatic that we got traded here.
“And, so, I’m just fortunate that these guys believed in me, and it’s not looking back on this game like, ‘Hey, Philly didn’t believe in me anymore.’ It’s more, ‘Hey, the Cardinals believed in me a ton and they came out and traded for me.’ And, so, that’s what I try and go out there each and every time I step on the field, it’s kind of reciprocate that belief that they had in me.”
Ertz caught 579 passes for 6,267 yards with 38 touchdowns across nine seasons for the Eagles. He has 22 receptions for 181 yards with a pair of TDs for Arizona this year.