The Denver Broncos need as much help as they can get at tight end — there just might be a pretty good 1 available really soon.
Super Bowl champion tight end and 3-time Pro Bowler Zach Ertz announced he’s been medically cleared after a devastating knee injury last season and would be an economical — i.e., perfect — fit for the Broncos.
The Broncos got an up-close-and-personal look at Ertz’s ability in 2025 right before his injury.
“After tearing his ACL last season, three-time Pro Bowl TE Zach Ertz officially has been cleared for all football activities and wants to play this season,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on Tuesday. “He was at Stanford today catching balls from his college QB, Andrew Luck. Ertz is expected to be ready to sign in mid-August. Ertz had 116 catches for 1,158 yards and 11 TDs over the past two seasons, including a 10-catch, 106-yard performance vs Denver in his final full game last season.”
Ertz, 35, was one of the few consistently excellent roster pieces for the Washington Commanders over the last 2 seasons but suffered a gruesome, season-ending knee injury in a Week 14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Ertz, who has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, and Detroit Lions, has approximately $81 million in career earnings, and could probably be had for something in the range of a 1-year, $3 million contract.
Broncos Don’t Have Real Answers at Tight End
Since hiring Sean Payton almost 4 years ago, the Broncos have gone position-by-position in improving the roster on the way to building a Super Bowl contender.
That’s with 1 notable exception — at tight end.
The Broncos took a relatively big swing in free agency before the 2025 season with 2-time Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram on a 2-year, $23 million contract. Engram fell completely flat and was at his worst in the playoffs, when his team needed him the most.
Headed into 2026, NFL.com singled out tight end as the “biggest remaining roster issue” but also dropped the idea that the answer to the issue might already be on the roster in rookie tight end and 5th-round pick Justin Joly.
“The Broncos arguably saw the least turnover in the league this offseason and have a Super-Bowl-contending roster in my book,” NFL.com’s Matt Okada wrote. “But they also did next to nothing to improve at tight end after a disappointing 2025 campaign from Evan Engram (461 yards, one TD) and the entire tight end room (seventh-fewest receiving yards in the NFL). Adam Trautman is used primarily as an in-line blocker, so unless Engram posts a bounce-back season or fifth-round rookie Justin Joly is a surprise breakout, Sean Payton will likely go another year without his coveted versatile tight end in Denver.”
Zach Ertz Declared Intentions Early in Offseason
Ertz was early in the rehabilitation process when he made it clear he wanted to return for a 14th NFL season.
“Three-time Pro Bowl TE Zach Ertz plans to play a 14th NFL season and is expected to be cleared right around Week 1, per sources,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero wrote on his official X account in February “Ertz is 2 months into rehab from a torn ACL. He ranks 5th in catches and 8th in yards among TE in NFL history, including 50-504-4 in 13 games in 2025 … After playing the past two seasons in Washington, Zach Ertz will be a free agent next month.”
Ertz was dominant for almost a decade after the Eagles selected him in the second round (No. 35 overall) of the 2012 NFL draft out of Stanford, and he became 1 of the stars on the franchise’s 1st Super Bowl-winning team following the 2017 season.
In 2018, Ertz set the NFL single-season record for tight ends with 116 receptions paired with 1,163 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns.
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