Former Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz reflected on his nine-year tenure with the team during an appearance on the New Heights podcast hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce on June 24, 2026.
Ertz, currently a free agent, revealed his single regret from his time in Philadelphia: showing up to training camp with bleached blond hair in 2021, just before his trade to the Arizona Cardinals.
“I essentially hadn’t been there all offseason. I had ankle surgery so I was missing OTAs anyway.
And I showed up for training camp with blond hair,” Ertz said.
“I don’t regret much about my time in Philly or this career, but the one thing I do regret is kind of that phase, showing up to training camp with blond hair.”
The tight end recalled that teammate Jason Kelce promised to dye his hair to match if Ertz remained on the roster through Week 1.
“It was so obvious, unfortunately, that my time was probably coming to an end, that Jason was like, ‘Bro, when are you getting traded?
You’re going to get traded any day now. If you’re still on the team Week 1 then I’ll dye my hair,’” Ertz said.
“I don’t think I had anything to lose in this situation.”
Jason Kelce confirmed the pact, saying he wanted Ertz to have something to look forward to if he stayed.
Ertz’s wife, former U. S.
women's national soccer team star Julie Ertz, also appeared on the podcast and expressed approval of the hairstyle.
“That’s really all that matters, honestly,” Ertz quipped.
Julie Ertz joked about the reaction of Jason Kelce’s wife, Kylie, to the matching hair.
“I don’t think Kylie [Kelce] liked your hair as much as I liked Zach’s hair,” Julie Ertz said.
The conversation turned emotional when Ertz discussed the bonds formed with teammates during his Eagles career from 2013 to 2021, which included a touchdown in Super Bowl LII.
“When you spend nine years somewhere, you’re going to always have a natural affinity for the place,” Ertz said.
“Unfortunately … I wasn’t able to play my whole career [in Philadelphia].”
Ertz emphasized that locker room camaraderie mattered more than statistics.
“The thing I look back on fondest is our core group of guys that we had together for a long period of time, with you, Lane, BG, Fletch, myself,” Ertz said.
“It wasn’t easy all the time for any of us.
Like there were times we’d get killed in the media or whatever it was, and I always knew you four always had my back regardless of what we were going [through].
And I hope you guys felt the same about me.”
He highlighted behind-the-scenes moments over game stats.
“And it is a little emotional talking about — I don’t know why — but just going through that, just being around the guys.
No one is going to remember about how many yards or catches or starts we had, but I do remember the day-to-day, grinding, the stories of you kicking over a trash can because you didn’t like the way a coach was treating someone else, or Lane hiding your helmet — those are the things I remember,” Ertz said.
After stints with the Cardinals and Washington Commanders, Ertz admitted he still mentally sings the Eagles' fight song when visiting Lincoln Financial Field.
“Even when [I was] on the other sideline … It’s still like subtly in the back of my mind,” Ertz said, “singing it as I’m over there watching.”
The 35-year-old tight end is recovering from a season-ending ACL tear suffered in Week 14 of the 2025 season against the Minnesota Vikings.
“We’re in a good spot.
We’re like five, almost six months now from surgery, so just training every day, doing everything I can to get back to where I was,” Ertz said.
“It’s a long process.
There’s some long days, there’s some long weeks, some long months … it’s tough, but we’re just trying to stack these days right now.”
