Carson Wentz trade talk has fluctuated over the last week. There was the thought that a potential deal could get done early last week but, things cooled off later on into the week. Here is everything we currently know about the trade market for Wentz:
There are currently two main suitors:
The Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears.
On February 11th, Ron Jaworski reported, the Colts have offered two 2nd-round picks for Wentz.
The next day (February 12th), Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press reported that a “team official” (from another team–not the Colts) reported that they’d made the better offer.
Looking at it from both team’s perspectives:
Indianapolis: The Colts have likely set their offer (two second round picks) and aren’t moving off of it. According to what I’ve been told, this is because of Chris Ballard’s propensity to acquire 2nd round picks at a high rate. Since 2018, Ballard has acquired 9 second round picks in various trades.
| 2018 |
| Traded: First-round pick (third overall). Received: First-round pick (sixth overall), second-round pick (37th overall), second-round pick (49th overall), 2019 second-round pick (34th overall) from N.Y. Jets. |
| Traded: Second-round pick (49th overall). Received: Second-round pick (52nd overall), fifth-round pick (169th overall) from Philadelphia. |
| Traded: Third-round pick (67th overall), sixth-round pick (178th overall). Received: Second-round pick (64th overall) from Cleveland. |
| 2019 |
| Traded: First-round pick (26th overall). Received: Second-round (46th overall), 2020 second-round pick (34th overall) from Washington. |
| Traded: Second-round pick (46th overall). Received: Second-round pick 49th overall), fifth-round pick (144th overall) from Cleveland. |
| 2020 |
| Traded: Second-round pick (44th overall), fifth-round pick (160th overall). Received: Second-round pick (41st overall) from Cleveland. |
The Eagles are reportedly looking for a “Stafford like” return in any trade for Carson Wentz, who’s reported preferred trade destination is Indianapolis. The connection is obviously there, and has been talked about ad-nauseam. However, one thing that may be contributing to the Colts reluctance to offer a 1st round pick was touched on by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s, Jeff McLane:
If Frank Reich–the one man who accross NFL circles–is heralded for being the “Wentz whisperer” of sorts is having doubts what could that tells you about the value of Wentz in potential trade negotiations?
If you’re keeping up, the Colts offer is reported to be just 2 second-round picks. I’d have to think Howie Roseman would want at least one first-round pick in exchange for the $128-million man.
This explains the reported inclusion of Zach Ertz in a potential Wentz trade. With Trey Burton about to hit the free agent market, veteran Jack Doyle still on the roster, and young Mo Alie-Cox, the Colts could use a reliable and dynamic piece at the tight end spot. Ertz fits that build. Now, could this bump the Colts offer up to a current or future one? That remains to be seen.
As it was explained to me (on the Colts situation), “the Colts are standing firm with their offer and aren’t budging. They won’t be coaxed into overvaluing.”
In addition to this, I was also told that it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Colts, “pull out.”
On the Chicago side of things, I think it’s much more open, as opposed to the streamline like outlook with the Colts situation.
Here’s what we know:
GM Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy are both on the hot seat. Make no mistake about it, they have to win this year. Howie Roseman understands this, as does everyone else monitoring this situation.
If Roseman’s main objective is to at least acquire a 1st-round pick, I’m inclined to believe that it’d be an easier get from Chicago vs. from Indianapolis. As of right now, things seem to be at a standstill and as Mike Kaye of NJ Advance Media reported, Chicago is, “growing impatient.”
That same impatience could lead to the team seeking out other options at the QB position. Some of those other options include free agents to-be, Gardner Minshew, Jacoby Brissett, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Andy Dalton to name a few. Another avenue Chicago could take is exploring the other options on the trade market. A name circulated has been Raiders QB, Derek Carr.
But the price tag for Carr according to Raiders reporter, Vincent Bonsignore is similar to that of Carson Wentz, meaning multiple first round picks. It ultimately comes down to which QB the Bears think gives them the highest ceiling. One thing to remember is that the Bears have former Eagles QB coach, John Defilippo on their staff. Defilippo is the same QB coach who helped Wentz reach near MVP heights in 2017. That factor may ultimately lead Chicago to being more willing to part with draft capital for Wentz, as opposed to Carr, who hasn’t reached that level in his career.
And while the Colts and the Bears are the main candidates for a potential Wentz trade, there is always the chance that another team could swoop in and enter themselves into the Carson Wentz sweepstakes, but as with every trade discussion, it comes down to the value opposing teams place on Wentz.
Ultimately, this is the nature of negotiations. Things move at a fluid pace. In this specific situation, there may be expedited motivation for the Eagles to get this deal done, all while attempting to play the market safe and get what they deem appropriate for a return. Maintaining leverage, for every party involved, is the key to this entire ordeal. The sense I get is that if a Wentz trade is going to happen, and I think it will, the Eagles need to act quick in order to get value for Wentz before teams move on to other solutions at the QB position.
Photo Credits: Getty Images
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