The Philadelphia Eagles pretty much shocked the NFL world Thursday evening by signing Carson Wentz to a four-year, $128 million extension that could guarantee him north of $107 million.
In terms of said guarantees, Wentz now ranks No. 1 in NFL history. It’s a lot to pay for a youngster that’s missed the ending of the past two seasons to injury.
Wentz sat out the final three games of the 2017 campaign and Philadelphia’s surprising Super Bowl win with a torn ACL. He also missed the end of last year with a back injury.
Despite this, the deal seems to be mutually beneficial for both Wentz and the Eagles. The same thing can’t be said for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff, who was selected one pick ahead of Wentz in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Here’s why.
Rams are not in a hurry: This has been made clear.
- As the Eagles were working on an extension with Wentz, Los Angeles made it clear that a new deal for Goff was not on the table.
- This led to suggestions that general manager Les Snead and Co. might want to see more from the quarterback before handing out a record-breaking deal.
- Given Wentz’s injury history, it was a surprise to see him receive so much in guarantees. Los Angeles likely won’t match that.
Same agency: This is no small thing.
- Both Wentz and Goff are represented by Rep 1 Sports.
- In fact, their three primary agents are the same. Ryan Tollner, Bruce Tollner and Chase Callahan.
- Sure agents and teams look at contracts as separate entities. But given the resounding success Goff has had in three seasons, that might not be the case here.
Goff’s struggles: This is going to play a role in negotiations.
- Once talks actually do heat up, what we saw from Goff towards the latter part of the 2018 campaign will be a topic of conversation.
- Goff accounted for just seven touchdowns compared to eight interceptions over the final eight games of the season.
- Hence, the Rams likely wanting to see him rebound in 2019 before committing long term.
When we take into account Sean McVay’s brilliance in calling a game, one has to wonder if the Rams’ head coach wants to spend this much on a quarterback.
It’s also important to note that McVay inherited Wentz from the Jeff Fisher-era Rams. Could that play a role? We’re not too sure.
What we do know is that Wentz’s record-breaking contract from Thursday is not great news for either Goff or the Rams.