The Eagles offseason hasn’t even officially begun yet, as free agency is slated to begin on March 15, yet it seems like almost every day there is more news about the Eagles. Much of that news circles around the notion that Carson Wentz will be traded, yet as the process drags on, questions arise if it will take place at all. Given Wentz’s unhappiness with the organization and his poor play last season it seems inevitable for the sake of both slides that a trade should be completed. The question is though, who actually wants to trade for Wentz and his massive contract?
So far there have only been two rumored teams that are apparently talking with the Eagles regarding a trade. Those teams are the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts. Both teams make sense for Wentz to go to as he has familiarity with each coaching staff. Going to the Colts would see Wentz reunite with his former offensive coordinator Frank Reich. The two worked together during Wentz’s best season as an Eagles quarterback in 2017. If anyone can “fix” Wentz and get him back to playing at an elite level it is Reich. On the Bears’ Coaching staff is John DeFilippo who served as Wentz’ QB coach in 2017 — another connection to his breakout year.
Between the Colts and Bears, Indianapolis is probably a better choice for Wentz. According to Albert Breer, Wentz feels the same way and prefers to go to the Colts over the Bears. The holdup apparently is that the Eagles aren’t in love with the Colts offer and are waiting out for a first-round pick.
A major hurdle in trading Wentz is the massive contract extension that he signed with the Eagles worth four years and $128 million. However, if Wentz continues to play poorly there is an out in the contract in the 2022 season.
If Wentz really doesn’t want to go to Chicago then it seems that the Colts are the only real destination, which gives the Colts an advantage as they will not likely have to give up a first-round pick. Originally, after the hiring of Nick Sirianni, it seemed as if the Eagles were making one more attempt to resurrect the former number 2 overall pick’s career. Now, it seems as if the Eagles want to trade Wentz — they just haven’t found the offer they are looking for.
If there wasn’t enough drama for the Eagles, it seems that the team is also not completely sold on Jalen Hurts as the quarterback of the future. Les Bowen, a writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, tweeted on Wednesday morning, “Spoke with NFL management sources (not from Eagles) about the Wentz melodrama. His viewpoint: If Wentz doesn’t want the Bears, Bears aren’t gonna trade for him. Eventually, the Eagles take whatever Indy is offering, maybe a second plus something. Also, the Eagles draft a QB 6th overall.” Will the Eagles stir up another quarterback controversy, instead of going for glaring needs? Only time will tell.
Update: On Thursday, the inevitable finally happened. Carson Wentz has been traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a third-round pick in 2021 and a conditional second-round pick in the 2022 draft. It’s important to note that the second-round pick in 2022 will turn into a first-round pick if Wentz plays 75 percent of the snaps or if Wentz plays 70 percent of the snaps and the Colts make the playoffs, per Mike Garafolo. Now only time will tell to see if Hurts will be the starting quarterback