Kliff Kingsbury and Zach Ertz spent parts of two seasons together with the Arizona Cardinals from 2021-22 as the head coach and starting tight end, respectively.
Now, the pair are reuniting in the nation’s capital.
Kingsbury was hired as the Washington Commanders’ new offensive coordinator in early February, leading to Eric Bieniemy’s departure.
The Commanders released 32-year-old tight end Logan Thomas last week, paving the way for the Ertz signing.
Ertz spent the first eight-plus seasons of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles, earning all three of his Pro Bowl honors in consecutive campaigns from 2017-19. Ertz was also Philadelphia’s leading receiver in four straight years and helped the franchise win its first Super Bowl.
The Stanford product finished the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII victory over the New England Patriots with a team-high seven catches for 67 yards and caught the game-winning touchdown with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter.
Ertz joined Kingsbury and the Cardinals via a trade in October 2021 and helped Arizona make the playoffs that season.
He played 10 games in 2022 before suffering a season-ending knee injury and missed time last season due to a quadriceps issue. The Cardinals released Ertz at the end of November 2023, but he had a mostly productive run when on the field in Kingsbury’s system.
The 33-year-old signed with the Detroit Lions in January ahead of the NFC Championship Game, but he wasn’t active for the contest.
