According to a league source, the Detroit Lions are preparing for their NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers by signing tight end Zach Ertz.
Although Ertz is anticipated to begin on Detroit’s practice squad, he may be activated prior to this Sunday’s game
because Brock Wright, the Lions’ second-string tight end, had a forearm injury on Sunday. Following the game,
Lions coach Dan Campbell stated that Wright’s injury “doesn’t look real good.”
Sam LaPorta, a rookie who caught 86 passes during the regular season and has 12 catches and a touchdown in two
postseason games, is Detroit’s first-choice tight end. However, Wright, who caught a 29-yard pass against the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, has played on 41% of the team’s offensive plays in the playoffs while LaPorta is dealing
with a hyperextended knee. James Mitchell, the third tight end for the Lions, required assistance at the position and
was placed on injured reserve earlier this month. Mitchell is already out of the lineup.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73042412/usa_today_22027006.0.jpg)
Before being placed on injured reserve in late October due to a quad injury, three-time Pro Bowler Zach Ertz caught
27 passes for 187 yards and one score in seven games this season for the Arizona Cardinals. Ertz then requested his
release, and Arizona waived him in November.
As a seasoned player with postseason experience and a working knowledge of the Detroit staff, he comes in. Ertz’s
position coach in Arizona was Steve Heiden, the tight ends coach for the Lions, who joined the team this offseason
after working for the Cardinals for a number of years. Now that the Lions are one game away from making their first
Super Bowl appearance, they will get back together in Detroit. Ertz may benefit from that relationship as the Lions
get ready to play the San Francisco 49ers.
33-year-old Ertz has 709 career receptions for 7,434 yards and 46 touchdowns. From his nine years with the
Philadelphia Eagles, he has a Super Bowl ring.
