Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is doing all he can to get a fresh start with a new NFL team, and may soon get his wish if the latest insider information is to be believed.
Wentz could well be on the way out of Philadelphia, but it remains to be seen which team would want to back him as its 2021 starter — much less at an incredibly steep cost.
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Philadelphia Eagles expected to trade Carson Wentz ‘in the coming days’
ESPN insiders Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen are reporting a Wentz trade is imminent:
Greg A. Bedard of BostonSportsJournal.com reported the alleged compensation Philadelphia is asking for in exchange for Wentz:
Wentz has really alienated the Eagles organization and fanbase of late. He didn’t exactly take well to Jalen Hurts being drafted in the second round last year, and eventually got benched for him due to poor on-field performance.
Beyond being a disaster on the gridiron, Wentz has had his fair share of issues in terms of being a leader, teammate and accepting coaching.
Read More: Carson Wentz reportedly ignored Doug Pederson, resisted coaching during atrocious 2020 season
Which teams would be interested in a Carson Wentz trade?
Well, it’d take a franchise with an uncertain quarterback situation, ideally a lot of cap space to absorb Wentz’s exorbitant contract, and a belief that he can return to the MVP-caliber form he flashed in 2017 before going down with a major knee injury.
There’s no question Wentz has talent. What is in doubt is whether or not he’s enough of a team player to be the face of the franchise. Evidently, he flopped in that regard with the Eagles, and it stands to reason he’d struggle as a member of a new team that is expecting to be a playoff or Super Bowl contender on an annual basis.
But let’s briefly think of the logical fits for Wentz: the Indianapolis Colts, who have former Philadelphia offensive coordinator Frank Reich as head coach. Would Reich even want Wentz given all the problems the latter caused with the Eagles? Maybe if he thought the 28-year-old could be the Colts’ long-term successor to Philip Rivers.
Despite making the playoffs this past season, the Chicago Bears went 8-8, and neither Mitch Trubisky nor Nick Foles were impressive. It was Foles who took over for the injured Wentz and led Philadelphia to a Super Bowl victory, so that’d be a potentially toxic dynamic if Foles weren’t part of a prospective trade to return to Philly for a third Eagles stint.
Acquiring Wentz feels like a desperate move for Chicago, whose general manager Ryan Pace will never live down drafting Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.
Considering the New England Patriots are all about a hard-nosed, disciplinarian culture under head coach Bill Belichick, Wentz’s personality doesn’t seem like a great fit in Foxborough — despite the obvious need the cap-loaded Patriots have at QB.
Who else could possibly want Wentz with all the baggage he brings with him, unless it’s for very modest trade compensation? It’s certainly not obvious from the outside looking in.
Most other teams in need of a quarterback are either in range to draft one of the top prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft, or can probably find a superior option either internally or thanks to a similar prior affiliation as to what Reich and Wentz have.
Cam Newton and the Washington Football Team come to mind as a possible match, for instance, because of Newton’s connection to former Carolina and current Washington head coach Ron Rivera.
Back on subject, though. If the ask is two first-round picks for Carson Wentz, the two-word response from any sensible NFL GM should be as follows:
No thanks.
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