Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz is expected to play in the Eagles’ wild-card playoff game against the Seahawks Sunday after being medically cleared, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Derrick Gunn.
Ertz suffered a broken rib and lacerated kidney in the Eagles’ win over the Cowboys on Dec. 22 and missed the playoff-clinching win over the Giants last weekend.
Doug Pederson said Friday the team was awaiting test results Saturday that could clear Ertz, and those results have come back positive.
Ertz has over 200 catches over the last two years and despite missing the last game of the season led all NFC tight ends with 88 receptions.
Ertz has been Carson Wentz’s favorite target over the last four years. Wentz has completed nearly twice as many passes to Ertz since entering the NFL in 2016 (303) than any other receiver. Nelson Agholor is second with 156.
Getting Ertz back, even on a limited basis, is a huge boost for an offense already missing DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, Agholor, Brandon Brooks, Corey Clement, Darren Sproles, Lane Johnson.
Ertz has 525 catches in his career, 13th-most in NFL history by a tight end and the most by any tight end in his first seven seasons.
NFL
He’s also been a big-time playoff player.
In six playoff games, he’s already 5th in Eagles postseason history with 31 catches and 7th with 316 yards and has two touchdowns, including the game-winner in the final minutes of the Super Bowl.
In Ertz’s absence, 2018 second-round pick Dallas Goedert has 13 catches for 156 yards and a TD in the last two games. He finished with 58 receptions for 607 yards, both top-10 in the league, and his 5 TDs were 7th-most.
The Eagles also have Josh Perkins and Richard Rodgers on the roster. Perkins, who began the year on the practice squad, has nine catches, including a 24-yard TD, during the four-game winning streak.
Rodgers, who rejoined the team on Dec. 24, only played five offensive snaps against the Giants but is the Eagles’ most experienced active postseason offensive player, with 13 catches for 138 yards and two TDs in nine postseason games, seven with the Packers and two last year with the Eagles.
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