It turns out the head-coaching change wasn’t going to repair the relationship between Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Reports this weekend have revealed that the Eagles are actively shopping Wentz with a deal expected to come “soon,” per ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen.
There were initial questions if the Eagles were going to explore trading the 28-year-old after parting ways with Doug Pederson, the man responsible for benching him Week 13 for Jalen Hurts — who finished the rest of a disappointing season as the main man under center.
Pederson’s relationship with Wentz was reportedly fractured beyond repair, but owner Jeffrey Lurie’s decision to fire the Super Bowl-winning coach suggested that he was going to side with Wentz.
Not so much.
The two most logical trade targets remain the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts, though a potentially saturated quarterback market could see Wentz as less of a priority to interested parties compared to Deshaun Watson, who reportedly wants out of Houston.
Still, Wentz has a history with Colts head coach Frank Reich, who was Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator from 2016-2017, that last year seeing Wentz develop into an MVP candidate before injuries cut his campaign short. With the Colts in the market for a passer after Philip Rivers’ retirement, a reunion in Indianapolis would offer Wentz an improved chance of regaining his early-career form.
For the Bears, it appears that their patience with Mitchell Trubisky has run out after the North Carolina product failed to live up to the hype that came with being drafted second overall in 2017.
They already have an offer reportedly on the table, as NBC Sports Philly’s Natalie Egenolf disclosed that the Bears have offered Nick Foles, Tarik Cohen, and a first-round pick for Wentz. It would provide a return of Foles, who is a hero in Philadelphia after steering the Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl title three years ago when Wentz got hurt.
The Eagles, however, are reportedly looking for a similar return to the Detroit Lions got for Matthew Stafford, acquiring two first-round picks, a third-rounder, and Jared Goff from the Los Angeles Rams.
That deal only helped inflate the market for a team like Philadelphia looking to trade their once-perceived franchise quarterback, but there are a few major factors working against the Eagles when it comes to getting such a return.
Wentz’s four-year, $128 million contract extension that goes into effect in 2021 has an annual average cap hit of $33.25 million, which is an awful lot of money to absorb for a quarterback who was benched for performance issues in 2020. On top of that, there are attitude concerns now after reports indicated his true colors after he was benched for Hurts.
Those shortcomings aside, it appears to be only a matter of time before Wentz is playing his football elsewhere.
