The Eagles on Thursday finally traded Carson Wentz for some draft choices, ending a unique chapter in the team’s history.
The deal will not become official until March 17, when the new year of the league begins, but once that happens, Wentz will be a Colt and the Eagles will finally have come out of a relationship that had incredible ups and downs unthinkable.
Here are 10 thoughts that leave me the next day:
1 Whenever there is a trade like this, people are really eager to judge it and rate it. This is not so easy here. In the short term, the Eagles did well. They would never get their ridiculously high starting price, but getting two choices for a player that everyone knew they needed to switch to is fair compensation. They have a third round this year and a second or first round next year. I think they are more likely to end up with a first one. So a one and a three in a situation where they didn’t have a ton of leverage or team moves is more than fair.
But in the long run, this is obviously a disaster and an embarrassing failure for Howie Roseman and the entire organization. They managed to save some kind of return in a negotiation, but that did not mask the general failure. It wasn’t like they were wearing party hats and celebrating at the NovaCare Complex on Thursday. This is a disappointment and they are largely responsible.
two The conditional choice in this exchange creates a strange crowd scenario for the fans. The second round in 2022 becomes the first if Wentz plays 75% of the Colts’ offensive plays or if he plays 70% and they make it to the playoffs.
So it’s not as easy as cheering for or against Wentz in 2021. Eagles fans will have to hope that he stays healthy and plays well enough to stay on the pitch, but barely enough that if the choice is become a first round, it will not be the 1920s.
My guess is that this is what happens. Wentz will play well, the Colts will make it to the playoffs and the Eagles will have a choice in the 21-25 range.
3 – I think Wentz will be successful at Indy, but the reason the Colts didn’t have to give up on him anymore was because that is a projection. Will he go back to his 2017 form and win the MVP? Nah, probably not. But I hope he will return to the level of play he reached in 2018 and 2019, when he was still very good.
In Indianapolis, he will have a head coach and make the caller Frank Reich whom he will trust. Reich and Wentz have a strong relationship and if anyone can get Wentz back on track, it’s Reich. Not to mention that the Colts have a good offensive line, some decent weapons and plenty of cap space to reinforce a list that just arrived from 11 to 5 in 2020.
Now, it will obviously hurt for the Eagles to see Wentz succeed elsewhere and they will regret that things got so bad that they needed to switch Wentz, but they cannot regret making the switch. Because Wentz wanted a change of scenery and the Eagles really had no choice; they had to deal with him.
4 – Wentz remained civil with the Eagles throughout the process, a source said, but it was clear that he wanted to leave Philadelphia. He and the Eagles have been through a lot in their five years together and he wanted to leave that baggage here and start over.
I was told that Wentz did not demand to go to Indianapolis and the Eagles would not lose the compensation to give Wentz what he wanted anyway. But let’s be honest: if the Bears thought Wentz didn’t want to be there, they wouldn’t give up on meaningful choices and make a commitment. This really left only one destination on the table.
5 How did we get here?
That is really the big question. There is no simple answer and there is no one to blame. And honestly, we may never know the full story. But it’s not all Wentz’s fault, it’s not all Roseman’s fault, it’s not all Doug Pederson’s fault. When there is a failure of this magnitude, it is really all of the above. Everyone deserves their fair share of blame for their role in deteriorating the relationship between the franchise’s QB and the team.
I keep going back to choosing Jalen Hurts. That’s not the only reason we ended up here, but it definitely didn’t help. What an absolute failure on the part of the Eagles to misinterpret Wentz’s mental makeup and how he could respond to that choice. He is not Aaron Rodgers; this situation is different. But don’t let Wentz out of danger either. At a certain level, strengthen yourself and compete. Failure on both sides there and in other areas.
Another: we heard all the reports about Wentz’s sometimes irritating personality, his stubbornness, etc., and this is his fault. But the Eagles created an atmosphere where they allowed and enabled Wentz to feel entitled.
6 I hear all the time that the Eagles won the Super Bowl without Carson Wentz. Do not.
Let’s be clear: the Eagles won’t win the Super Bowl in 2017 without Wentz.
This will not take away from what Nick Foles did and who knows if Wentz would have been able to play well enough to win in the big game. But Wentz gave the Eagles an 11-2 start and his incredible game took them to the top spot, giving them the advantage of playing at home for the Super Bowl LII.
7 I don’t know if the Eagles will choose another quarterback in the first round, but I know they will at least think about it. They are keeping all options open, a source said, so that at least means that they are not entirely convinced of going forward with Hurts as a defender. And if you’re not fully sold …
Eagles, at least, must do their homework on these defenders. I’m not sure what they’re going to get out of it, but if they fall in love with Justin Fields or Trey Lance or Zach Wilson, they should think about getting him as No. 6. And if they’re willing to take a quarterback at 6, they should be willing to come up with some choices to make sure they get it.
8 Hurts’ pick still baffles me. It didn’t look good when they did it last April and now that the entire organization has been torpedoed, it looks even worse.
9 With all that said, I really hope the Eagles will give Hurts a chance to be the guy. They liked him enough to recruit him in the second round and he showed enough last year to at least be intriguing in 2021. Of course, there were some big concerns; its accuracy is at the top of that list.
But Hurts will have a full off season this year, he will likely have a healthier offensive line, probably better weapons and a new coach who will have months to project an attack around his strengths. I don’t know if Hurts will be any good and I don’t think his roof is as high as Wentz’s now, but I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.
10 It is up to Roseman to fix this team. If you’re not very confident in the GM of the Eagles, I understand. But it doesn’t look like he’ll be fired anytime soon. The Eagles had 10 choices in the draft last year and will have at least nine in 2021. That’s a lot of lottery tickets. Eagles need to start attacking them more often.