The Day After: A Farewell To Carson Wentz and a “Level-Headed” Review Of The Trade

The Carson Wentz era is officially over in Philadelphia. Just five short years after it began and about ten years before the fans optimistically hoped, Wentz will be donning another uniform come August. Wentz was traded to the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday. In return, the Eagles received the Colts 2021 third-round pick, and a conditional 2022 second round pick.

 

While on the surface that return to the Eagles may make you roll your eyes, it’s not as bad as it may appear. That conditional second round pick can turn into a first round pick if either of the following conditions are met:

 

    1. Wentz plays in 75% of the Colts offensive snaps.
    2. Wentz plays in 70% of the Colts offensive snaps and the Colts reach the postseason.

 

Both of those scenarios are entirely plausible, and dare I say likely. While Wentz has had his injury issues in the past, each of his injuries in 2017 and 2018 came in a week 14 game. In other words, after the 75% threshold needed for that conditional pick to turn into a first-rounder.

 

The Rare Win-Win-Win Trade

 

My Twitter feed has been engulfed in this news ever since it broke. I’ve seen a lot of people tweeting that they did not like the trade. This surprises me for a few reasons.

 

My original belief was that this deal was a win for all parties involved. More than 24 hours removed from the original breaking of the news, I believe that even more wholeheartedly than I did yesterday.

 

First and foremost, for Carson Wentz, this is exactly what he wanted. He gets to go play for a competitive “win-now” team while playing for a coach he is already extremely familiar with. He gets out of the toxicity of this city’s media as well as the stench of this awful organization. Wentz got what he wanted, making this an obvious win for him.

 

The Colts were truly the only team ever seriously interested in trading for Carson Wentz. Credit to them, they got their guy without having to give up a King’s ransom to get him. Indianapolis believes they are a great quarterback away from being a true Super Bowl contender. They believe Wentz is that guy. That alone makes this trade a clear win for them.

 

For the Eagles, the writing was on the wall in this situation. They knew they couldn’t keep Wentz around even if they wanted to (they clearly did not want to). They also knew that no team other than Indianapolis would be willing to trade for Wentz and his bloated contract. The dead cap hit for the Eagles is absurd and is the worst situation of it’s kind in the league’s history. With that being said, the fact that the organization was still able to weasel their way into a probable first round pick even after Wentz’s disastrous 2020 season makes this a win. Howie Roseman still needs to be fired.

 

A Farewell To Carson Wentz

 

This trade was a matter of “when,” not “if.” Carson Wentz wearing another uniform in 2021 was inevitable, and if you thought otherwise, I would love to be apart of whatever delusional reality you’re apart of. His relationship with Doug Pederson was “fractured beyond repair,” and Wentz was also reportedly not a fan of the Nick Sirianni hire (join the club Carson).

 

 

I’m no detective, but I would imagine his connection with the front office wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows either.

 

Who could blame him? Wentz was told time and time again that he was the guy at the quarterback position. Yet, Eagles management (cough Howie Roseman cough) constantly made decisions that not only undermined that statement, but did the exact opposite.

 

The Eagles kept Nick Foles on the roster for the 2018 season (yes, it ended up working out, but that’s not the point). They gave Wentz injury prone weapons and a couple of lawn chairs at wide receiver in 2019. Then, in 2020, Howie Roseman not only failed at upgrading the wide receiver position, which he promised he would do, but he also failed at putting together any semblance of a competitive roster. At the same time, however, the Eagles still had one of the highest payrolls in the sport. How that is possible, I truly do not know.

 

It was time for a divorce between Wentz and the Eagles, there’s no doubting that. While I can recognize it was time for the two sides to move on, I think there will always be a part of me that will look back on the Wentz era and simply wonder, “what if.”

 

  • What if the organization chose to build around him in 2018, 2019, and 2020 like they did in 2017.
  • What if Wentz hadn’t gotten hurt in 2017 and 2018.
  • What if Wentz’s play-calling head coach played to his strengths and actually, ya know, helped him succeed (run the ball).
  • What if the Eagles didn’t draft Jalen Hurts.

 

Are all of these factors the sole reasons why Wentz stunk worse than a high school men’s locker room in 2020? No, of course not. Nonetheless, you would be foolish to believe that those factors listed above didn’t play a role in his demise.

 

I can admit that I was one of Wentz’s toughest critics this past year. However, that doesn’t mean I didn’t want him to succeed. I don’t think I can ever forgive this organization for the role they played in ruining their most legitimate talent at the quarterback position in their 88 year history.

 

Thank You, #11

 

I truly hope for the best for Wentz in Indianapolis. Outside of the frustrations on the field in 2020, Wentz seemed like a genuinely good person who got treated poorly. He was the victim of false reports and narratives as well as an incompetent organization that went out of their way to throw him under the bus. Wentz never missed an opportunity to give back to the Philadelphia community. It’s unfortunate that won’t be his greatest legacy in this town.

 

On behalf of Eagles fans everywhere, we thank you for everything you did in the five years you spent in Philadelphia. On the field it wasn’t always great, and this year it was damn near painful to watch. Nevertheless, the fans always knew that no matter what, #11 in midnight green was giving 110% on every single play. That goes a long way in this city.

 

Now, please play at least 75% of the Colts offensive snaps in 2021. Thanks, Carson.

 

By Matt Szczypiorski | February 19, 2021
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