Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz was cleared to play in Sunday’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks despite suffering an injured kidney two weeks ago against the Dallas Cowboys.
Ertz also suffered an injury to his ribs and sat out the final game of the season when the Eagles defeated the New York Giants to claim the NFC East division championship and a playoff berth.
Though Ertz and the Eagles lost against the Seahawks on Sunday, Ertz played through immense pain and revealed exactly what he was going through after the game against the Cowboys.
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“It’s been tough. It’s been real tough,” Ertz said as he talked to reporters while trying to hold back tears.
“It hurts. There’s been a lot of highs and lows. My faith has kept me through it. There was a plan for me. I just wanted it to be black and white honestly. I took the emotion out of it. I just prayed that… I wanted it to be clear. I didn’t want it to be a gray area where it was an emotional decision. It was unanimous that I was good to play. I knew that there was a plan and a reason, and that’s why I was able to go.”
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Ertz said he suffered two non-displaced fractures and had blood in his urine after the Cowboys game, the NFL Network reported. He said doctors and athletic trainers rushed him to the hospital afterward and he couldn’t get out of bed the following day.
“I wanted to play for this city. I take a lot of pride playing for my teammates,” he said.
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Ertz finished the season with 88 catches for 916 yards and six touchdowns.
He’s under contract for at least the next two seasons. His base salary is set to escalate from $805,000 in 2019 to $6.6 million in 2020.
