The Detroit Lions are hoping to get their offense back on track next season with Drew Petzing calling the shots. Petzing is coming from the Arizona Cardinals, where he was known for his rushing attacks and finding ways to get standout TE Trey McBride the ball.
The hope is that he can do the same thing with tight end Sam LaPorta, who is coming off a serious back injury that forced him to go on injured reserve late in the season. The 25-year-old LaPorta told reporters last month that he hopes to be running by OTAs and expects to be ready to throw on the pads when training camp kicks off, per Tim Twentyman of Lions.com.
That being said, Detroit should still make sure to shore up its tight end depth in the offseason, as this team struggled massively without LaPorta. One potential option that the Lions could look to explore is bringing back Zach Ertz, who has a brief history with Petzing and the Motor City.
Drew Petzing Has Big Opportunity to Reunite With Zach Ertz
The 35-year-old Ertz is scheduled to be a free agent after spending the last two years with the Washington Commanders. Ertz suffered a torn ACL in Week 14 this past season, which was not good, and left some to wonder if he would suit up again.
On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Ertz plans to return for his 14th season and is expected to be clear from this ACL injury “right around Week 1.” Based on this news, the Lions absolutely kick the tires on signing Ertz.
Petzing had seven games to work with Ertz back in 2023 before he suffered a quad injury and requested to be released. In those seven games with the Cardinals, Ertz had 27 receptions (43 targets) for 187 yards and a touchdown.
It wasn’t what we were used to seeing from Ertz, but the Cardinals also had an emerging tight end in McBride, who finished that season with 81 receptions (106 targets) for 825 yards and three touchdowns.
Spotrac projects Ertz’s market value as a one-year, $2.2 million deal, which is perfect for Detroit, which has other needs that they’ll need to spend more money on.
At the same time, it’s not the most flashy signing, but he would be an upgrade over Brock Wright at TE2. It would also give Detroit more depth, as Shane Zylstra and Anthony Firsker are both free agents.
As much as the Lions like Wright for his blocking skills, he leaves much to be desired as a pass catcher. With Ertz, the Lions wouldn’t have to worry about their TE production going down in the receiving department.
As previously mentioned, the veteran TE joined the Lions’ practice squad ahead of the NFC title game in the 2023 season after the Cardinals granted his release in November of that year. Ertz didn’t get called up for that game and had his contract expire.
If the Lions were to bring Ertz aboard, he wouldn’t put up the numbers that he had in Washington over the last two years, as he would be the second option behind LaPorta. However, Ertz would give Jared Goff and the Lions a security blanket, just in case LaPorta were to go down again in 2026.