Cardinals’ Zach Ertz, Hollywood Brown active vs. Commanders

Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz and wide receiver Hollywood Brown are officially active for the team’s season-opening matchup against the Washington Commanders.

Ertz (knee) and Brown (hamstring) entered the matchup as questionable after practicing in a limited fashion all week.

With his active status, the veteran tight end has accomplished his goal of returning from a torn ACL suffered in Week 10 of last season by Week 1.

The duo represents Arizona’s top two options in the receiving game.

Before going down with his season-ending knee injury, Ertz was one of the team’s most consistent weapons behind 47 catches for 406 yards and four touchdowns.

He’s expected to be that security blanket again for Cardinals signal callers in 2023, especially with Arizona expected to rely heavily on the run game and two-tight end sets.

Brown meanwhile enters a contract year as Arizona’s No. 1 wide receiver after catching 67 balls for 709 yards and three touchdowns across 12 games played. A foot injury that took five games to heal derailed a strong start to the season for Brown.

Not everyone is suiting up for Arizona, though, with cornerback Sterling Thomas V, linebacker Owen Pappoe, defensive lineman Dante Stills, tight end Elijah Higgins and offensive linemen Carter O’Donnell and Ilm Manning inactive for Sunday’s contest.

They join swing tackle Kelvin Beachum, who was ruled out Friday with a hand injury, on the sideline. Beachum is Arizona’s No. 2 option behind D.J. Humphries and rookie Paris Johnson Jr. on the outside.

The Cardinals take on the Commanders at 10 a.m. Catch all the action on the Arizona Sports app, arizonasports.com and 98.7.

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