Zach Ertz's knee injury ended his season, and now we know why.
The Arizona Cardinals tight end told reporters on Thursday, while accepting his Man of the Year nomination, that he suffered tears to both his ACL and MCL, requiring surgery to repair both ligaments.
Ertz added he hoped to be ready for Week 1 of the 2023 season, but can't guarantee he will be at this point.
Ertz joined Arizona via trade during the 2021 season, saying a tearful goodbye to Philadelphia after eight and a half seasons with the Eagles. The tight end made a minor impact for a team that would soon enter a tailspin down the stretch in 2021, catching 18 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns to close out the regular season.
Ertz returned and played a significant role with the Cardinals in 2022, catching 47 of 69 targets for 406 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games before suffering the knee injury in Arizona's win over the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 13.
The 32-year-old, three-time Pro Bowler remains under contract through his age-34 season of 2024 and is likely to stay with the Cardinals in 2023 because of his remaining value and the $10 million dead cap number he carries into the first portion of the new league year. With this in mind, there's no other option than to wait for Ertz to recover and rehabilitate his way back to the field.
He'll hope to return to a Cardinals team that is more competitive than it has been this season.
