The Eagles seem intent on sticking it out with quarterback Carson Wentz to see if he can rebound from a disastrous 2020 season.
At least that appears to be their plan according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a report that at least for now throws some water on the idea they could try to trade him this offseason.
Despite his struggles throughout this season, the Eagles still believe in Wentz as a player and person, and still believe he can return as the type of standout quarterback he once was, according to team sources.
"None of this changes the belief that people have in Carson," one team source insisted to ESPN this weekend.
Wentz was sent to the bench last Sunday in the team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers and will be on the sideline again today when the Eagles take on the New Orleans Saints. Rookie Jalen Hurts will be making his first career start.
The cap ramifications of trading Wentz would be huge. If the Eagles were to trade Wentz they would take on a dead-money cap hit of just over $33 million dollars. While that would actually save them cap space for 2021, the cap hit could represent as much as 18% of their cap next season.
Of course, even if their plan for now might be to trade Wentz, that could change depending on what happens over the next four weeks and this offseason.
If Hurts were to play well, and a terrible offense suddenly starts to move the ball, the Eagles could decide the issue was indeed Wentz. While the report states they will be keeping Wentz, this could also be a first-play by the team to try to make it clear they still value the quarterback, hoping to drive up his trade price this offseason and avoid looking like they are desperate to trade him.
The report could also be bad news for Doug Pederson. If the Eagles truly do still believe in Wentz, and don’t view him as the main problem, than it is likely that it will be the head coach that takes the fall for the 3-8-1 season this team is currently going through. Hiring a new staff could be the team’s only hope in fixing Wentz, as it seems the combination of Wentz and Pederson has simply not been a winning one for the Eagles since the start of the 2018 season.
What the Eagles actually do remains to be seen, but Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints will give us our first indication of where the situation might be heading.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!