DETROIT – The Detroit Lions added a veteran tight end with a Super Bowl ring to their roster ahead of this weekend’s conference title game in San Francisco.
Zach Ertz, 33, appeared in seven games with the Arizona Cardinals this season before being waived Nov. 30. He caught 27 passes for 187 yards and one touchdown.
Ertz has played in 151 games since breaking into the league in 2013. He has 709 catches for 7,434 yards and 46 touchdowns. His last great season came in 2019, when he racked up 916 yards and six scores.
The Lions needed to make a move at tight end after the injury to Brock Wright during Sunday’s win over the Buccaneers in the divisional round. Wright is the team’s No. 2 tight end behind rookie Sam LaPorta, who is already playing through a knee injury.
While he’s not the same guy who caught 115 passes for 1,163 yards in 2018, Ertz does bring some valuable playoff experience to Detroit. He caught seven passes for 67 yards and a touchdown when the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl the prior season.
Wright had a minimal role in the passing game but saw plenty of action as a blocker. Ertz is first being added to the practice squad, but there’s a chance he could be elevated for the game and asked to pick up some of that slack.
