Patriots need to trade for Zach Ertz if Eagles screw everything up

The Patriots should explore a trade for Eagles TE Zach Ertz if contract negotiations continue to stall.

The lack of urgency from the New England Patriots as it pertains to finding a long-term replacement for tight end Rob Gronkowski has been befuddling, to say the least. Fans who claim his retirement took the franchise by surprise are delusional for thinking so as the former All-Pro had been hinting at calling it a career for quite a while before making it official.

Furthermore, the Patriots, thanks to the brains of Bill Belichick, almost always seem to have a contingency plan in place for these sort of things. Not only has that not been the case, but he also jettisoned a potential solution by trading Jacob Hollister to Seattle for pennies on the dollar.

To be fair, Belichick did adjust the team’s glaring TE need in the 2020 Draft by using a pair of third-round picks on UCLA product Devin Asiasi and former Virginia Tech standout Dalton Keene. While there was some buzz surrounding the two players at training camp, tight ends rarely burst onto the scene as rookies.

With all of this in mind, Belichick should be keeping an eye on Zach Ertz’s contract situation in Philadelphia. If negotiations fail to improve, the de facto general manager should absolutely explore a trade for the perennial Pro Bowler.

Ertz’s frustration with the Eagles is understandable as his $8.5 million salary for 2020 ranks seventh among all tight ends. That’s laughable when you consider that he’s clearly a top-three player at his position. Ironically enough, the other two (Travis Kelce and George Kittle) both inked massive extensions with Kansas City and San Francisco last month.

While the three-time Pro Bowler isn’t as flashy as Kelce and Kittle, one could certainly argue that he’s more consistent. Over the last two campaigns, he’s registered 204 receptions for 2,079 yards and 14 touchdowns. Folks, there are only a handful of receivers that are capable of logging such numbers in a two-year span. What’s just as impressive is that Ertz has tallied at least 74 receptions every season dating back to 2015.

The Patriots have never shied away from trading draft picks, and they currently have over $31 million in cap space, which is set to increase to almost $74 million in 2021. With all that cash, New England could extend Ertz nicely without breaking a sweat.

Prior to Gronkowski’s retirement, the tight end position was an integral component of the Patriots’ offense for several years. However, that all changed in 2019 as New England didn’t even have a player at the position register more than 20 receptions. For a team whose receiving corps is admittedly weak, it could use a reliable source of production at TE.

If the Patriots have any interest in extending Cam Newton, they had better address the uncertainty at the position. After all, Greg Olsen finished as the Panthers’ leading receiver in three different seasons with the former MVP under center.

In the simplest of terms, Ertz would change the ENTIRE dynamic of the Patriots offense, and that is not an exaggeration. The least Belichick could do is keep tabs on the former second-round pick’s hostile contract predicament in the event that an opportunity to trade for him arises in the near future.