By Michael Grimm
The Eagles are reportedly on the verge of trading Carson Wentz, whom they moved heaven and earth to draft in 2016 as their franchise quarterback.
According to a recent report from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter, the Eagles are expected to trade quarterback Carson Wentz in the “coming days.”
Maybe even as soon as tonight’s Super Bowl ends.
Stay tuned.
Reports of the Chicago Bears’ interest started on Friday afternoon after Brandon Robinson, one of the co-hosts of our Rule of 3 podcast, Tweeted out that the Bears had an offer on the table for Wentz.
That interest has since been confirmed by many, including Mortensen and Schefter in their latest report.
Philly has been receiving calls on Wentz all week, and it’s certainly possible that a deal has already been agreed on by both parties. But with the Super Bowl on the horizon, the league would prefer any breaking news be held until next week.
Greg A. Bedard, who writes for the Boston Sports Journal, is reporting the Eagles are seeking two first round picks in return for Wentz, which has led many teams to balk at that price.
But since we’re talking about the Bears and GM Ryan Pace, I would expect him to be willing to go higher than any other team would go. My guess, if the Bears are indeed the team that gets him, is their 20th pick overall, plus a mid round sweetener, but I also think the Eagles are one of the few teams in the league that would see value in Nick Foles.
Philly is committed to Jalen Hurts as their starting QB, but Foles would be a good mentor and teammate, plus he’s a popular player in that locker room and in the city.
Wentz’s contract isn’t nearly as bad as some make it out to be, with the Eagles being on the hook for much of the bonus money, but the Bears will still need to get creative with their cap space to necessitate their coming moves for the 2021 season.
A team acquiring Carson Wentz will take on 4 years and $98.4M left on his contract ($24.7M per year).
His cap hits would be:
2021: $25.4M
2022: $22M
2023: $25M
2024: $26MPhilly would eat a $33.8M dead cap hit in 2021, the largest in NFL history.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 6, 2021
There has also been some reports that Wentz is willing to renegotiate his contract to help necessitate a trade, and that he may also be open to giving back some bonus money to the Eagles just to get off that team.
