Cardinals get: 2025 sixth-round pick
There's just no reason for Ertz to be on the Cardinals. A team that is rebuilding at worst and tanking at best is paying a 32-year-old tight end more than $9.1 million this season, all while he blocks a path to regular work for
Trey McBride, a second-round pick from last year's draft. Ertz doesn't do much more these days than catch passes and fall down -- he's averaging 6.6 yards per reception -- but the former Eagles standout has still drawn a pair of 10-target games this season.
Saying that Ertz is insurance against
Travis Kelce getting injured would be foolish, but Ertz would at least give the Chiefs some semblance of a veteran tight end with a feel for finding soft spots in coverage in the case Kelce
misses time. The Chiefs dramatically upped their usage of tight ends last season after trading away
Tyreek Hill, and the season-ending injury suffered by
Jody Fortson in August has probably limited their ability to get to 12 personnel or 13 personnel more often. Ertz is still a big body who can block and serve as a target off play-action in the red zone.
Of course, the Chiefs don't want to pay $6.3 million in prorated salary to bring on a backup plan at tight end, so the Cardinals would need to pay down virtually all of Ertz's salary as a bonus to get this deal done. In the end, he would get a chance to go try to win one more Super Bowl, the Cardinals would save a small amount of money and get a draft pick, McBride would get a chance to play as the top tight end for Arizona and the Chiefs would land a pass-catcher who can mix into their rotation over the remainder of the season.