Bills nearly acquired Pro Bowl TE in 2021 trade

Jan 4, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott before the AFC Wild Card NFL Playoff game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Many people feel that the one thing missing from the Buffalo Bills’ offense is a true playmaking tight end, and apparently the team came close to acquiring one two seasons ago.

Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz says he was nearly traded to Buffalo midway through the 2021 season. He had received permission from the Philadelphia Eagles at the time to seek a trade, as the two sides could not agree on a contract extension. There was a report prior to the season that the Eagles were close to trading Ertz to Buffalo. Ertz says that was accurate.

After he accepted Frank Reich’s Call to Courage Award in Buffalo on Saturday, Ertz revealed that a trade to send him to the Bills in 2021 was “almost a done deal.”

“I was getting traded out of Philadelphia,” Ertz said, via Mark Gaughan of The Buffalo News. “There were a couple teams extremely interested, Buffalo being one of them. It was almost a done deal, but it just didn’t get over the finish line.”

Ertz said one person with the Eagles stepped in and nixed the deal, otherwise it would have gotten done. That may have been general manager Howie Roseman.

Dawson Knox has been Buffalo’s best tight end over the past two seasons and a favorite red-zone target of Josh Allen’s. He still is not the same type of impact player that Ertz is when Ertz is healthy.

Ertz caught a career-high 116 passes for 1,163 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2018. A player like that could probably do a lot of damage with Josh Allen.