The moment has arrived, Colts fans. Carson Wentz is here to help propel Indianapolis to a Super Bowl as general manager Chris Ballard rounds out the rest of the roster this offseason.
Shortly after completing the trade with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday, Wentz wasted no time and has already touched down in Indy to get to work. WTHR.com captured the veteran quarterback hopping off a plane and into an SUV on Friday afternoon.
It’s been said many times before, but we can throw out everything we saw from the former Eagles QB in 2020. Philly’s been trending downward ever since 2018, which, coincidentally, was when Frank Reich, who is said to be largely responsible for Wentz’s development, left to become head coach of the Colts.
Eagles' QB Carson Wentz is all smiles arriving in Indy after a reported trade deal with the @Colts.https://t.co/WUHjfXDiDi pic.twitter.com/AxrbSV2JCa
— WTHR.com (@WTHRcom) February 19, 2021
And just like that, a new era of Colts football has begun…
On the other hand of the Wentz trade value discussion, there was no way Ballard was going to meet the Eagles’ reported lofty demands, which featured two first-round picks. Wentz’s potential is sky-high, as evidenced by his MVP-caliber campaign a few years back, but Philadelphia had no right setting such a high asking price when Wentz has been slightly above average (at best) since Reich’s departure.
And reuniting him with Reich in a much more fluid offensive system could make the Eagles look all the more foolish.
It’s funny how everything transpired, too. If not for Josh McDaniels backing out of the Colts head coaching job back in 2018, Reich would’ve never left for Indy, and perhaps the Eagles would be enjoying similar success with the offensive mastermind still mentoring Wentz. Now, Philly has former Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni replacing Doug Pederson with Jalen Hurts expected to be the starter. That feels like it should’ve never happened.
Adam Schefter says that Carson Wentz and Doug Pederson didn’t speak for “eight, nine, 10 weeks.”
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) February 19, 2021
(via @975TheFanatic) pic.twitter.com/NUNxreSDL1
Reich left and everything spiraled out of control. That says a lot, and the pair can quickly prove that their rapport was indeed the key to the Eagles success that year up until Wentz’s season-ending injury.
Another reason to be excited? Just about every Colts player is thrilled with the news. Guys like Jonathan Taylor, Kenny Moore, Julian Blackmon, Darius Leonard and others have already shouted out Wentz on social media, expressing their excitement to get to work.
We’re sure the QB is thrilled too after removing himself from that toxic environment in Philly. Now he’ll have a top running game, offensive line, and defense working with him — three things he hasn’t had in unison since that magical 2017 campaign.
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The Philadelphia Eagles were willing to take a $33 million dead cap hit just to make sure they could trade Carson Wentz to the Colts.