Zach Ertz did much more than break a rib last week against Dallas, and he will miss more than Sunday’s regular season finale.

The Eagles tight end has a lacerated kidney, according to Ian Rapoport.

A fractured rib wasn’t going to keep the Eagles tight end from playing in a game to win the NFC East and punch Philadelphia’s playoff ticket. There would have to be more.

It makes sense from the blow Ertz took that the lungs would not be involved and the left flank blow would have injured his left kidney. The doctors are doing the right thing by ruling him out.


Yes, people have two kidneys, and most function and live a normal life if just one kidney works. However, having only one kidney effectively rules one out for contact/collision sports like football.

Ertz is as tough as they come. He returned to last week’s game after heading to the locker room for what was presumably X-rays, exam and a rib block injection.

It is routine to check for associated internal organ damage before return. Sometimes the kidney damage can be detected immediately. Other times it is a delayed presentation. There is no way kidney injury was known or Ertz would not have been allowed to return. That would be malpractice.

Ertz will recover completely. There is likely no surgery needed. He will preserve function of both kidneys and return to football, but not any time soon.


The bigger news is even if the Eagles win today and make the playoffs, Ertz will not play next week. The typical timeline for recovery is about four weeks. While it is possible he could play in the Super Bowl, it is more likely he misses all of this year’s postseason than returns for any of it.

