Wentz era ends in Philly, sent to Indy
PHILADELPHIA — Carson Wentz helped steer the Eagles toward the franchise’s only Super Bowl title and later received the richest contract in team history.
He’s already gone before that deal even kicked in.
The Eagles agreed to trade Wentz to the Colts, according to a person familiar with the deal. Philadelphia receives a third-round pick in this year’s draft and a conditional second-round pick in 2022 that can turn into a first-round pick if Wentz plays 75 percent of the snaps this year or 70 percent and the Colts make the playoffs.
The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal hasn’t been announced.
Wentz is coming off the worst season of his fiveyear career and was benched for rookie Jalen Hurts after 12 games. He finished third in NFL MVP voting in 2017 when he led the Eagles to an 11-2 record before a knee injury ended his season and Philadelphia went on to win the Super Bowl.
The deal reunites Wentz with Colts coach Frank Reich, who served as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator his first two seasons in the league. Press Taylor, an offensive assistant coach with the Eagles during Wentz’s tenure, also has joined Reich’s staff.
The Colts are turning to their fourth starting quarterback in Reich’s four years. Andrew Luck retired abruptly before the 2019 season and Jacoby Brissett took over. Philip Rivers led the team to the playoffs in his only season in Indianapolis in 2020. After Rivers retired, Wentz became an ideal replacement for the team.
Brissett is about to become a free agent, and the only other quarterback on the roster is Jacob Eason, who never took a snap last season as a rookie.
Wentz is entering the first season of a four-year, $128 million contract extension he signed in June 2019. The Eagles will absorb a significant salary cap hit of $33.8 million in dead money on their 2021 cap. Indy started the offseason with the second-most room under the projected cap.
The Eagles traded up twice in the 2016 draft to select Wentz with the No. 2overall pick. He started all 16 games as a rookie and had a breakout sophomore season before he tore two knee ligaments in Week 14 and watched Nick Foles lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl win over New England.
A back injury ended Wentz’s season early in 2018, and Foles led the Eagles to a playoff victory.
Wentz started every game in 2019 and helped the Eagles win the NFC East with an excellent four-game stretch in December.
But he was knocked out of his first career playoff start after nine snaps because of a concussion. Wentz hasn’t been the same since that hit from Jadeveon Clowney. He posted a 72.8 passer rating, 16 interceptions and lost four fumbles in 12 starts in 2020. The Eagles finished 4-11-1 and fired coach Doug Pederson. They hired former Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni.