Colts complete trade for Eagles QB Carson Wentz at bargain price
By Adam Weinrib
Some Indianapolis Colts fans won’t be sold on the addition of Carson Wentz until they see him in action, reunited with his old mentor Frank Reich. And that’s fine.
But after a deal was completed on Thursday morning, it’s difficult to quibble with the draft capital the team actually surrendered to put him in place.
We’ve spent the past few weeks begging Indianapolis to stand their ground and refuse to budge on offering a pair of first-rounders for Wentz, in addition to taking on his hefty extension.
If those rumors seemed ludicrous the past few weeks, they’ve been confirmed as such now.
First, the odds that Indy would be acquiring Wentz absolutely surged late Wednesday night, indicating something was on the horizon.
Thursday morning, that “something” came to fruition, and if Wentz can rebound to his MVP form from 2017 (big if, but a worthwhile ask), this deal will be seen as the steal of the century.
Philadelphia has agreed to trade Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick that could turn into a first, league sources tell @mortreport and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 18, 2021
Yes, that’s it. A 2021 third-rounder (more valuable in Chris Ballard’s hands than Howie Roseman’s anyway) and a conditional 2022 pick that could eventually morph into a first.
That’s really it. Your eyes do not deceive you.
The Colts are banking on Carson Wentz as their starting QB.
Wentz is living in the midst of a four-year, $128 million contract that will pay him a $15.4 million base salary in 2021, plus a series of bonuses that bring his cap hit to over $34.6 million.
The Colts are more than willing to absorb it, and rank among the select few franchises in the NFL that can do so with ease this time around, carrying around $70 million in cap space entering this strange pandemic offseason.
Indianapolis, also sick of stopgaps after welcoming their fourth Week 1 starter in four seasons here, certainly hopes to solidify the position moving forward. They believe in Wentz. They believe in the man more than the 16 TD-15 INT season replete with poor decisions and strange throws he just put up.
How’s this look...? pic.twitter.com/RG1HCQHDOq
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 18, 2021
Wentz’s career has been an enigma thus far. Prior to his season-ending injury in 2017, he’d posted 33 TDs and seven interceptions in a genuinely transcendent year, finished off in the Super Bowl by Nick Foles.
In 2019, Wentz thrived, leading the Eagles to the postseason with a sterling December, replete with one of the most low-rent receiving corps you’ll ever see a starter operate with.
And yet, one year later, he was genuinely unplayable.
The Colts are taking on a lot of salary here, but are giving up a minuscule haul to an Eagles team that was backed into a corner by Wentz’s demands, as well as his lack of interest in the Bears, the only other reported destination on the table.
Judge Indy’s maneuver here as much as you’d like, but know they clearly believe in the talent, are prepared to discount tales of locker room friction, and gave up very little to make a trade happen.
