Chicago Bears Free Agency: Possible cap casualties to consider signing
By Ryan Heckman
Chicago Bears potential cap casualty targets: Zach Ertz
This cut makes too much sense not to happen. The Philadelphia Eagles have looked at trading Zach Ertz, but if they can’t find a trade partner, he will likely be released. Going forward, the Eagles will put all their chips into Dallas Goedert, who is more than capable of being a top-10 tight end in this league.
As for how Ertz fits into Chicago, it’s not actually all that sensible for the Bears to go after him. In terms of filling a need, this move doesn’t exactly do so. However, if one gigantic domino falls and the Bears somehow land Russell Wilson, they immediately become a team where veterans will want to play.
Ertz has a connection with Bears passing game coordinator John DeFilippo, of course, from their days together in Philadelphia. That should count for something, even though the Bears currently have Cole Kmet and Jimmy Graham on their roster.
There have been whispers of the Bears cutting Graham to save roughly $7 million, but going from Graham to Ertz is only a minor upgrade. It’s also only an upgrade if Ertz can prove he’s still the same guy and that 2020 was just a rough patch.