Zach Ertz Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (calf) is active for today’s game vs. the Chiefs. Still dealing with a calf injury he suffered back on August 4, Ertz got in just limited practices on Wednesday and Friday. And HC Kliff Kingsbury hinted Friday that Ertz could be on a snap count in this one. But rookie TE Trey McBride is a healthy scratch, which might suggest optimism about Ertz’s health.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport calls Cardinals TE Zach Ertz "likely" to play against the Chiefs today, "assuming no issues warming up." Ertz got in just limited practices on Wednesday and Friday this week, and HC Kliff Kingsbury hinted Friday that Ertz could be limited if he does suit up. He's a shaky Week 1 fantasy play -- although there is upside in what should be a high-scoring game.

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (calf) is listed as questionable for this weekend's opener vs. the Chiefs. Still dealing with a calf injury he suffered back on August 4, Ertz got in just limited practices on Wednesday and Friday. HC Kliff Kingsbury said Friday that he "hopes" Ertz can contribute in "some manner" on Sunday. It sounds like there's a good chance he's limited even if he ends up active. Ertz is shaping up as a shaky Week 1 fantasy play.

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (calf) did not practice on Thursday. That followed a limited workout on Wednesday. This was either a planned day off -- or Ertz suffered a setback. We'll have a better idea of his status when we get Arizona's final injury report tomorrow, but fantasy owners need to be lining up an alternative for Week 1.

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (calf) put in a limited practice on Wednesday. We suppose it's good news that he was able to get in some work, but he's been dealing with this calf issue for over a month now. We'll get another update on his status tomorrow.

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury labeled TE Zach Ertz (calf) "day to day" on Monday. Ertz remains sidelined after injuring his calf way back on August 4. He seems genuinely questionable for this weekend's opener vs. the Chiefs. We'll get Arizona's first official injury report of the year on Wednesday.

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury said Wednesday that he's hoping to "get something out" of TE Zach Ertz (calf) early next week. There's been very little talk of Ertz's injury, but he's been dealing with it since August 4. Kingsbury insinuated that Ertz isn't a lock to be available for Week 1. We'll continue to keep an eye on this, but Ertz carries added risk in fantasy drafts over the next few days.

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz left Thursday's practice early and remained out Friday. HC Kliff Kingsbury said the veteran strained a calf, according to Jess Root of Cards Wire. We'll watch for further indications on the severity. Rookie TE Trey McBride (back) also missed a 2nd straight day of practice Friday.

Cardinals GM Steve Keim gave his scouting report on rookie TE Trey McBride. “The guy can do it all,” he said. “He can play in-line, he can flex, he can motion, he can play out of the backfield. He’s got tremendous hands and a great catching radius. He’s really strong in a crowd. And his character is off the charts. He’s a three-time captain, a phenomenal leader and we’re just thankful he was there [to draft].” Keim added that McBride was “by far the highest graded [prospect]” at pick #55. Zach Ertz’s contract makes it tough for the team to move on before 2024, so McBride figures to play a part-time role for the foreseeable future.

The Cardinals grabbed Colorado State TE Trey McBride in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. After a solid sophomore campaign, McBride got only a 4-game junior year, thanks to COVID. He won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top TE last season, though, racking up 90 receptions for 1,121 yards. McBride totaled just 10 TD catches for his career and arrives somewhat limited in size and athleticism, but there’s upside as a short-to-midrange receiver. He’ll head to training camp behind TE Zach Ertz but could push the veteran for playing time throughout the season.

TE Zach Ertz has agreed to a new 3-year deal with the Cardinals worth $31.65 million, with $17.5 million of that guaranteed, according to multiple reports. Ertz averaged 5.1 catches and 52.2 receiving yards per game over 11 contests with Arizona after being traded from Philly last season. He's a solid-to-good value at the bottom of TE1 territory (or even high-TE2 range) in early best-ball drafting.

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (hamstring) is active for today’s game vs. the Lions. He was added to the injury report and limited in practice on Friday, so there’s elevated risk here. But we haven’t heard anything about Ertz being limited today. And the matchup vs. Detroit’s 21st-ranked TE defense adds upside.

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (hamstring) is "looking good" to play vs. the Lions today, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Ertz was added to the injury report and limited in practice on Friday, so he carries elevated risk in Week 15 fantasy lineups. But there's still plenty of upside here with Arizona likely to put a bunch of points on the board today.

Cardinals TE Zach Ertz (hamstring) is listed as questionable for this weekend's game vs. the Lions. He was added to the injury report and limited in practice on Friday. We'll look for further updates on his status.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Cardinals expect WR DeAndre Hopkins to miss the rest of the regular season with a knee sprain. The team is "hopeful to get him back at some point in the postseason." It's worth noting here that NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Hopkins is "expected to miss Sunday and likely more." Those 2 reports don't necessarily clash, but might be reason to wait before dropping Hopkins from your roster right away if you can help it. However long he's out, Hopkins' absence can only help the target outlooks for the team's other pass-catchers. Christian Kirk and A.J. Green both look like top-30 options across fantasy formats for Sunday's game at Detroit.

Both ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport hear that Cardinals QB Kyler Murray (ankle) is unlikely to play vs. the Seahawks today. Schefter reports that a final decision on Murray's status won't be made until pregame warmups but that "signs point" to QB Colt McCoy getting another start. Rapoport says there's a "chance" Murray is able to play -- but a "better chance" that it's McCoy. We won't get Arizona's inactives until 3 pm ET, so Murray belongs on fantasy benches unless we get a more optimistic report on his status. McCoy played well in his 1st start vs. the 49ers 2 weeks ago but bombed last week vs. the Panthers. He's a low-end QB2 and a clear downgrade for Arizona's offense.

The Eagles traded TE Zach Ertz to the Cardinals in exchange for rookie CB Tay Gowan and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick. Ertz has been on the trade block all year, and Arizona came calling after losing TE Maxx Williams to a season-ending knee injury last week. Williams averaged 4 targets in 4 healthy games this season. Ertz has a chance to exceed that mark the rest of the way, but he'll probably struggle for reliable weekly fantasy value alongside Arizona's deep WR corps. We're assuming Ertz won't play vs. the Browns this weekend after playing his final game for the Eagles last night. The real winner here is TE Dallas Goedert, who should finally get a full-time role in Philly with Ertz out of the way. See where Goedert and Ertz sit in the updated Rest-of-Season Rankings.

Update: Ertz isn't even eligible to play vs. the Browns on Sunday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Ertz should make his Cardinals debut in Week 7 vs. the Texans.

Teams are calling the Eagles about trading for TEs Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz, according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer. Glazer adds that he "wouldn't be surprised" if 1 of them is dealt within the next week. A trade would likely increase the fantasy value on both guys considering they've been splitting work in Philadelphia.

Eagles TE Dallas Goedert was not activated from the COVID list and is out for tonight's game vs. the Bucs. We'll see if he can get cleared for Week 7. TE Zach Ertz is a nice target bet tonight with Goedert out and Philly likely to deploy a pass-heavy game plan.