Zach Ertz reportedly signing a multi-year deal with the Cardinals

Before letting him test the waters in free agency next week, the Arizona Cardinals have reportedly locked up tight end Zach Ertz for three more years.

After getting off to a very impressive start last season, the Arizona Cardinals made a trade for longtime Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz to try and help them contend with some of the top teams in the NFC.

Unfortunately, acquiring Ertz didn’t give the Cardinals a big enough boost to contend for a championship in 2021. However, he still went on to have one of the best seasons in recent memory by a tight end in an Arizona uniform.

Ertz was scheduled to hit the free agency market in a few days, but it appears that the Cardinals have prevented that from happening by getting the veteran tight end to agree to a multi-year contract.

Zach Ertz will reportedly sign a three-year deal to remain with the Arizona Cardinals

After a solid performance with Arizona in 2021 in which he caught 56 passes for 574 yards and three touchdowns, Ertz will reportedly be sticking around in the desert for a little bit longer.

According to NFL Media’s Tom Peliserro on Sunday, the Cardinals and the veteran tight end are finalizing a new deal that will keep him under contract with the franchise until the 2025 offseason. Pelissero also reported that this new deal will keep Ertz as one of the 10 highest-paid tight ends in the NFL, meaning he will be making an average of at least $10 million per season.

Despite Ertz being 31-years-old and Arizona not really having a ton of salary cap space this offseason, the team clearly felt that retaining the veteran tight end was a priority this year. It’s a move that seems a bit risky given his age and cost, but the Cardinals clearly feel that Ertz is worth the risk.

At the very least, Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray now knows he will have a reliable tight end to throw to for the next few years.