The Philadelphia Eagles said they were going to trade Carson Wentz and after a couple of weeks of stalled negotiations, they have. The Indianapolis Colts will acquire the quarterback for a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and a conditional second-round pick in 2022. Looks like the Colts will ride or die with Wentz next season, as the NFL quarterback carousel continues.

Carson Wentz Trade Philadelphia Eagles Indianapolis Colts Indy Philly
Carson Wentz, seen here during pregame warmups with the Philadelphia Eagles, finds a new home with the Indianapolis Colts after a trade. (Image: AP)

The Colts went 11-5 last season, but needed a new quarterback after Philip Rivers retired after one season in Indy. The Colts lost to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card game.

The Eagles went 4-11-1 last season and head coach Doug Pederson got axed in January. The Eagles had the seventh-worst offense in the NFL; they generated only 20.9 points per game in a pass-happy league where six teams scored nearly 10 more points per game than the low-flying Eagles.

The Eagles will move forward with Jalen Hurts at quarterback. The rookie finally got the starting nod after Pederson’s patience with Wentz wore thin late in the season. The Eagles drafted Hurts with a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He started three games and finished the season with six touchdowns and three picks. He also rushed for a touchdown.

Last week, the Colts were +3000 odds to win Super Bowl 56, while the Philadelphia Eagles were +6000 odds. Right now at DraftKings, you can back the Colts at +2200 odds to win the Super Bowl. The Eagles saw their Super Bowl odds dip to +6600.

Reich Reunion

Wentz will be reunited with Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich. Reich was the offensive coordinator with the Eagles during their championship season a few years ago. Wentz thrived under Reich’s offensive scheme during the two seasons he spent with him.

The Colts were ranked #9 in scoring last season, averaging 28.2 points per game.

Wentz steps into a winning culture and a situation where he has numerous weapons, including Jonathan Taylor. Wide receiver TY Hilton is a free agent, but perhaps he’ll return to play with Wentz.

The Eagles will incur a $33.8 million dead cap hit for trading Wentz, the largest in NFL history. The Colts are now on the hook for a $10 million roster bonus, plus his four-year contract extension worth $128 million.

No Chicago for Wentz

The Chicago Bears were rumored to land Wentz in a wacky swap that included former Eagles QB Nick Foles. The Bears weren’t thrilled with Foles after they acquired him in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Things got so bad in Chicago that they unbenched Mitch Trubisky for a stint.

Now that the Bears passed on Wentz, they could be interested in Las Vegas Raiders backup QB Marcus Mariota, or New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold.

The San Francisco 49ers look like they’re sticking with Jimmy Garappolo, but you can make a prop bet on where Jimmy G plays next season.

The LA Rams made the biggest move of the offseason when they leveraged their future by trading Jared Goff and multiple first-round picks to the Detroit Lions for Matt Stafford.

The big prize right now involves disgruntled quarterback Deshaun Watson. He demanded that the dysfunctional Houston Texans trade him, and he prefers going to the New York Jets or Miami Dolphins. The Denver Broncos, Washington Football Team, and Carolina Panthers are also shopping for quarterbacks. With Wentz off the market, the demand for Watson increases.

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