Eagles Trade Carson Wentz to the Colts
So far the biggest news in the 2021 NFL offseason is the trade of quarterback Carson Wentz to the Colts ending his five-year tenure in Philadelphia. The Colts acquired Wentz from the Eagles in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick.
For Philadelphia, the conditional 2022 second-round pick will turn into a 2022 first-round pick if Wentz can start in 75 percent of the games next season for Indianapolis or if he plays in 70 percent of games and the Colts make the playoffs.
Wentz is the clear starter for Indianapolis with Philip Rivers retiring, so the only thing holding Philly back from receiving a first-round pick for Wentz might be his health. During his time as an Eagle Wentz was a good quarterback when healthy, but Wentz missed plenty of time including Super Bowl LII after a torn ACL late in the regular season.
Wentz Career in Philly
The Eagles traded multiple first-round picks and more to the Cleveland Browns in 2016 to land the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. With the No. 2 selection the Eagles drafted Carson Wentz out of North Dakota State University.
Immediately after the draft, it was believed that the Eagles found themselves their quarterback for the future and that Wentz would spend a long time in Philadelphia. During his time in Philadelphia Wentz totaled 1,562 completions for 16,811 yards and 113 touchdowns in 68 games.
In 2019 the Eagles rewarded Wentz with a four-year $128 million contract. As it stands right now the Eagles have a record of $33.8 million in dead money due to the trade of Wentz. Ouch!
What Went Wrong?
Since Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LII win a lot has gone wrong. Not only has Carson Wentz continued to struggle with injuries many different Eagles players struggled with injury. When playing Wentz has missed some passes that he should have completed, but that happens.
Wentz appeared to have lost a significant amount of his confidence and it did not help that the Eagles offensive line did not give him very much help. When watching Eagles games it seemed that Wentz was constantly being hit and under immense pressure.
It also does not help that many times the Eagles sent out a receiving core of players nobody has ever heard of and expected Wentz to be a magician.
Reunion with Frank Reich
As soon as the Eagles were eliminated from the playoffs in the Week 17 finale against the Washington Football team it was believed that Wentz’s time as an Eagle was in jeopardy. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson benched Wentz heading into week 14 when the Eagles played the New Orleans Saints.
Wentz was replaced by second-round pick Jalen Hurts. The Colts were an immediate team to come to mind after Wentz was benched for rookie Hurts. The Colt’s current head coach is former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich who knows Carson Wentz very well and coached him during the 2017 season which many people believed was an MVP caliber season before tearing his ACL in week 14 against the Rams.
Wentz Leading Indy
Not only is Carson Wentz teaming up with his former offensive coordinator in Mark Reich again, but the Colts also have a much better offense than the Eagles which will give Wentz some hope. The Colts have a very strong offensive line headlined by All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson and center Ryan Kelly. In Indianapolis, Wenta will be given much more time and should be able to stay healthier.
Indianapolis also has a solid running game led by running back Jonathan Taylor who is coming off a good rookie season. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is entering free agency so Indianapolis will need to make sure to either re-sign Hilton or sign a receiver or two to help Wentz with a very young receiving core.
