Who Should I Start? Zach Ertz or Jonnu Smith

Friday, June 26, 9:59 AM

Veteran free-agent tight end Zach Ertz (knee), who remains unsigned with training camp quickly approaching next month, said on the New Heights podcast that he continues to work towards being 100% healthy for the 2026 season, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "We're in a good spot. We're like five, almost six months now from surgery," Ertz said. "Just training every day, doing everything I can to get back to where I was. It's a long process. There's some long days, there's some long weeks, some long months . . . it's tough, but we're just trying to stack these days right now." In his 13th year in the NFL last season with the Washington Commanders, the 35-year-old caught 50 of his 72 targets for 504 yards and four touchdowns in 13 starts before suffering a season-ending torn ACL in Week 14. Because of the timing of the injury and his age, Ertz is not guaranteed to be ready for the start of the 2026 season, which is certainly why he's still a free agent. A team could take a chance on the three-time Pro Bowler before the start of the upcoming season if he proves he's fully healthy, but for right now, Ertz is off the fantasy radar.