Just hours after leading the team with four receptions in their 28-22 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Zach Ertz is no longer a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. The team has traded the tight end to the Arizona Cardinals for cornerback Tay Gowan and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick.

The move doesn’t exactly come as a shock. The three-time Pro Bowler had been in trade rumors and was given permission to seek a trade in the offseason. The nine-year veteran ranks second among Philadelphia tight ends in receiving yards, trailing Dallas Goedert, despite playing one more game.

Ertz has totaled 579 receptions for 6,267 yards and 38 touchdowns since being drafted by the Eagles in 2013. The 30-year-old has 18 catches for 189 yards and two scores in the 2021 season.

Thursday night’s loss dropped Philadelphia to 2-4. The Eagles are unlikely to make the playoffs, building toward the future with three potential first-round picks. The Dallas Cowboys have already started to pull away in the NFC East.

Arizona has its eyes on making a Super Bowl run this season. The Cardinals are the NFL’s lone unbeaten team with a 5-0 record. Arizona visits the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in one of its most difficult matchups on the schedule.

Ertz won’t be available to make his Cardinals’ debut until Week 7, even though he’s joining Arizona two days before the next game. NFL players are only allowed to play in one game each week.

Maxx Williams is the only tight end to catch a pass for the Cardinals this season. Williams has 16 receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown. Since being drafted in 2015, Williams has never finished with more than 268 yards in any year.

The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m. ET.

Zach Ertz Eagles
Zach Ertz #86 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field on October 14, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
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