Former Lions TE Zach Ertz signing 1-year deal with Commanders

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, free agent tight end Zach Ertz is inking a one-year contract with the Washington Commanders. The story states that Ertz’s pact is for “up to” $5 million, but keep in mind that the contract’s real terms may change significantly.

In order to improve their tight end depth, the Detroit Lions added Ertz to their practice squad during the postseason. In the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Lions had just two healthy tight ends left after James Mitchell and Brock Wright both finished the season on injured reserve: Sam LaPorta and Firkse, Anthony

Ertz had only been with the squad for four days before the game, so it’s possible that the Lions decided not to promote him to the gameday roster. To put it another way, Ertz did not participate in any team snaps.

Ertz had the option to sign a futures contract with Detroit as he finished the Lions season on the practice squad. He became a street free agent after that failed to materialize, allowing him to sign with any team right away.

The Lions have a solid group of tight ends under contract heading into the 2024 offseason, including James Mitchell, Sam LaPorta, and the newly re-signed Shane Zylstra. Additionally, they can choose to re-sign Anthony Firkser, an unrestricted free agent, or Brock Wright, a restricted free agent.

Visit our contract tracker to find out which Lions are presently bound for each position. Additionally, use our 2024 Detroit Lions offseason tracker to see the progress of each Lions free agent as well as all roster changes made by Detroit.