The Carson Wentz trade apparently didn’t sit well with the Philadelphia Eagles. After investing years of time and millions in cold hard cash on the former No. 2 pick, Philadelphia had to move Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts last week for a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and a conditional second-rounder in 2022.
There simply was not a huge trade market for Wentz. While the Chicago Bears joined Indianapolis in showing interest in Wentz, they grew impatient over trade talks.
Other quarterback-needy teams in that of the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots and Denver Broncos did not have any real interest in a Carson Wentz trade. It led to a watered-down market for his services, as evidenced by the Eagles’ reaction to the return they received.
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Philadelphia Eagles unhappy about Carson Wentz trade return
“Not thrilled. They recognize the return they got versus what they invested in (Wentz) does not match up. The reality is they were selling at a low point,” ESPN’s Tim McManus noted (h/t the NY Post). “There was one team really hot after him because of Frank Reich’s connection to Wentz, and that was the Colts,” McManus added. “So I don’t think the Eagles wake up happy to this, but they recognize it was fair market value – all things considered.”
It was back in April of 2016 that the Eagles traded up to the No. 2 overall pick in order to acquire Wentz. That move required Philadelphia giving up the eighth pick, a third-round pick and a fourth-round pick in 2016, a first-round pick in 2017 and a second-round selection in 2018.
This is one of the reasons that Eagles’ brass is not happy about the return it got for Wentz from Indianapolis. That’s a lot of draft capital for a quarterback who missed the conclusions of three seasons due to injury and was benched this past year. Ultimately, Wentz never proved to be a franchise-type quarterback for Philadelphia.
The Eagles must now go back to the drawing board. They have 2020 second-round pick Jalen Hurts on the roster. However, he’s not guaranteed to start in 2021. Meanwhile, recent reports suggest that Philadelphia could very well opt to use the No. 6 pick in April’s draft on a quarterback.
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There’s, however, some decent news on this front. The conditional second-round pick Philadelphia acquired from Indianapolis in the Carson Wentz trade can turn into a first-round selection should he play 75% of the Colts snaps in 2021 or suit up in 70% of their snaps and lead the team to a playoff appearance. At this point, it seems to make sense to believe said pick will be in the first round.
Either way, the Eagles knew they had to pull off a Wentz trade. Other interested team knew that, too. It led to a watered-down market for the quarterback’s services and some unhappy people within the Eagles’ organization.