The Philadelphia Eagles’ supposedly fated face of the franchise has moved on. After several up and down years in Philly filled with injury,
loss, and inconsistency, quarterback Carson Wentz was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for two draft picks.
Wentz, a former MVP candidate on the 2017 Super Bowl winning squad, saw his career take a downward turn after Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts was drafted. Being the backup to Hurts for a portion of this year’s NFL season completed Wentz’s recent career descent with the Eagles.
Problems between head coach Doug Pederson might also have led to the trade. After multiple injuries, including tearing several knee ligaments, Wentz began to lose touch with his head coach. Wentz had little control over his offense because of the injuries and losses that kept accumulating from 2018 on. Even after recovering from injury, Wentz still backed up Nick Foles and was forced to play an “if needed” role for the team seeking him as their franchise passer.
Wentz, though, refused to stay with the Eagles even after Pederson was fired. Philadelphia’s hiring of Nick Sirriani was not enough to keep Wentz in the lineup for the Eagles.
The trade came with some positives for Wentz’s future for the Colts. In Indianapolis, Wentz will once again play under the guidance of head coach Frank Reich, Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator in 2016 and 2017. This chemistry may bode well for the Colts and could propel the team to the top of the AFC standings to give recent powerhouses Kansas City and Buffalo some much needed competition.
For the Eagles, though, the Wentz trade is a bit of a loss, but only in the sense of a rebuild. The quarterback and coach who were said to bring the Eagles success are now both gone. More trades are on the horizon for Philadelphia to complete a potentially successful rebuild.
However, the Eagles will fall back on Jalen Hurts, the growing young quarterback picked in the second round of the 2020 draft. Although they will almost certainly bring in competition for the starting spot, they will look to him to rekindle the Eagles’ offensive spark and hopefully use his quick skills to their advantage this upcoming season.
Sources: ESPN, NFL