49ers Could Land Super Bowl Champion Tight End Before Eagles Game: Analysis
The San Francisco 49ers could strike gold amid the recent waiver of Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz at a perfect time.
Arizona waived Ertz on Thursday after he requested his release according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Ertz, a three-time Pro Bowler could add to the 49ers offense as a compliment to tight end George Kittle.
In addition, the 49ers could field Ertz against his original former team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Ertz played for the Eagles from 2013 to 2020 where he helped the team win a Super Bowl in 2018.
San Francisco (8-3) will get a chance sooner on the waiver wire sooner than the Eagles (10-1) due to records. That’s if Ertz falls that far through the waiver wire, but he did ask for a release from a 2-10 squad.
The 49ers need a quality second tight end to pair with Kittle. While Kittle has been solid as ever with 46 receptions for 667 yards and five touchdowns, quarterback Brock Purdy doesn’t have a second go-to tight end.
Niners tight end Ross Dwelley has a catch for 12 yards this season. Fellow tight end Charlie Woerner has one reception for nine yards.
Ertz still has much left to offer amid 27 catches for 187 yards and a touchdown this season for the Cardinals. He played 64% of the team’s offensive snaps, but he has been hampered by injuries since 2022 with an ACL tear last year and a quad injury this year.
A California native, Ertz also has ties to the great Bay Area from playing college football at Stanford before the Eagles drafted him in 2013.
Purdy would have another effective red zone target with Ertz. In addition, Ertz can effectively pick up yardage on short routes, and he’s effective at catching the ball downfield with his 6-foot-5 frame.
Ertz has a 10.5 yards per reception career average amid 709 catches for 7,434 yards and 46 touchdowns. He also has ample playoff experience with 36 catches for 381 yards and two touchdowns in eight career postseason games.
Signing Ertz could work for the 49ers despite his salary cap number of $11.6 million this year. San Francisco has $39.6 million in salary cap space for this season.
Brock Purdy Targets George Kittle Often Despite Slow Start
Adding Ertz would only make Purdy’s job more comfortable down the stretch. Purdy targets Kittle the second-most, 61 targets, out of all receivers after wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, 65 targets.
That’s also amid Kittle’s role as run blocker, which factored into a slow start to the season on pass catching. He didn’t have a touchdown grab until the Dallas Cowboys game on October 8.
“I think just the scheme of things, you know, that’s sort of just how we’ve drawn things up,” Purdy said in an October press conference via Sports Illustrated’s All 49ers. “That’s how really the games have gone where other guys have popped open and stuff, and George has had to help out with protection, and he’s done such a good job of doing that role, being in protection and checking out on the flat and stuff like that.
“And then when his opportunities come, we take advantage of it. But man, that’s just sort of how it’s gone so far,” Purdy added.
Things mostly took off since late October with two 100-yard games and two games with touchdowns for Kittle.
