Philadelphia Eagles sign Zach Ertz to an extension

The Philadelphia Eagles fired former head coach Chip Kelly because they lost one star too many. So after firing Kelly, the Eagles made sure they weren’t going to lose a rising star anytime soon. The team announced Monday that they signed tight end Zach Ertz to a 5-year contract extension.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the extension is worth $42.5 million, with $20 million in guarantees. The contract makes Ertz the 4th-highest paid tight end in the NFL in average salary and guaranteed money. Jimmy Graham ($10 million), Julius Thomas ($9.2 million) and Rob Gronkowski ($9 million) are the top three in average per year.

The second-round pick in 2013 has only 169 catches for 2,024 yards and nine TDs in his 3-year career. But he’s a rising star because in 2015, he caught a career-high 75 passes for 853 yards. The rising star tight end particularly started to shine bright down the stretch last season.

In the last four games of the 2015 season, Ertz caught 35 passes for 450 yards, and one touchdown. It’s the highest-yardage total by a tight end in NFL history over the last four weeks of a regular season. His 450 receiving yards in the final four weeks of the season also made him just the second NFL tight end to accumulate at least 450 yards over a four-game span since 2013.

Mercurial pass-catching tight end Jimmy Graham was the first to accomplish such a the feet. The hope is that the tight end comes back to be quarterback Sam Bradford’s security blanket for the forseeable future. With head coach Doug Pederson taking over, running back Demarco Murray will get a chance to run downhill too.

And if 2015 1st-round pick Nelson Agholor pans out, Bradford will have his triplets and the Eagles defense will have a chance to rest.