The Philadelphia Eagles have repeatedly said that Carson Wentz will be their starting quarterback in 2021, but haven’t exactly shut the door on a trade.
Although the Eagles don’t intend to deal Wentz, they have listened to offers and discussed them internally. Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that the Eagles now expect to trade Wentz in the coming days.
However, regardless of what they intend to do, General Manager Howie Roseman hasn’t completely shut the door on a trade and has set a high-asking price for Wentz.
The question is whether the Eagles and teams around the league believe Wentz can recapture the form, which helped Philadelphia return to the playoffs in 2017.
While on the Eagles side the haul of picks in return and whether they believe Jalen Hurts has the tools to transform into a franchise quarterback will determine whether Wentz remains in the city of brotherly love.
Where could Carson Wentz land?
The likeliest destination and arguably the best destination for Wentz is the Indianapolis Colts.
Nevertheless, the Colts appear instant favourites out of this group. Indianapolis presents an opportunity for Wentz to reunite with former Eagles QB coach Frank Reich, who he has a strong relationship with.
While the Colts also have a playoff ready roster with a significantly better and a significantly more durable supporting cast and offensive line.
A large part of Wentz’s regression this season was due to a poor supporting cast and a porous offensive line, the Colts current situation looks like one that is tailor made to adapt to Wentz’s strengths.
Why are teams still interested in Wentz?
Although Wentz endured a difficult season, the quality still remains as indicated by his 2019 season.
Wentz guided the Eagles to a third straight playoff berth, despite being without a number of key contributors down the stretch of that season.
The former North Dakota alum was the first NFL quarterback in history to throw for 4000 or more yards without a wide receiver having more than 500 yards receiving.
Wentz put a depleted roster on his back down the stretch and guided the Eagles to four straight wins to earn the NFC East crown, two of which were comeback wins against the Giants and Washington.
Wentz’s favourite receiver target down the stretch was former college quarterback and practice squad wideout Greg Ward, despite having one of the most underwhelming receiver corps in the league Wentz thrived.
In 2019 Wentz posted 4000+ passing yards, 27 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, posting the better stats than the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Deshaun Watson.
Wentz is still a highly capable signal-caller, a change of scenery will once again bring the best out of him.