With the way the Eagles' roster has been so overhauled in the last year, it feels like it's been an eternity since Zach Ertz played for the Birds. Ertz's final game in Philly came less than a year ago, a Week 6 loss to the Buccaneers that saw the tight end score his final touchdown in midnight green, and against a Tom Brady-led team, that felt poetic.
Ertz's quarterback that night was Jalen Hurts, who is absolutely thriving as the signal-caller for the 4-0 Eagles. In speaking with the Philadelphia media on Monday ahead of this weekend's Eagles game against Arizona, the current Cardinals tight end praised Hurts.
"Jalen is one of the hardest working players I've ever been around," Ertz said.
That has been a recurring theme for some time about Hurts from, well, everyone who seems to interact with him. What separates the 2022 version of Hurts from his first two years in the league, however, is that his ability as a pro passer is finally matching his intangibles, leadership and rushing talent.
As I mentioned, a year can make a world of a difference in the NFL. The Birds are undefeated now and were 2-4 last year when Ertz was traded to the Cardinals. The Eagles dealt Ertz during what they thought would be a rebuilding year so he could have a chance to win for a playoff contender. The Cardinals got smashed during the 2021 Wild Card weekend though, just as the Eagles did. But now the 2022 Eagles, with Hurts at the helm, are the favorites in the NFC and the Cardinals' future is murky with a head coach who could be axed this season.
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Ertz continued to talk about his time with the Eagles and Philadelphia as a whole, calling it a "special time." Ertz said that he and his wife Julie, the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team star, "grew up" here in a way, as Ertz played the first eight-and-a-half years of his NFL career here.
It's been a whirlwind three-week stretch for the Eagles as they trot down 2017 memory lane. Week 3's trip to Maryland to face the Commanders saw them square off with former franchise savior Carson Wentz. This past Sunday saw the first Eagles head coach to ever hoist the Lombardi Trophy, Doug Pederson, return to Philly. Now, at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, the man who scored the game-winning touchdown in the Birds' lone Super Bowl win will take on the Eagles.
It's been five years since that Super Bowl team. In NFL years, it might as well be 50.
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