Adam Schefter believes Eagles will sign Carson Wentz to long-term contract before 2019 season

It’s been a busy offseason for the Philadelphia Eagles but there’s still one major thing remaining on their checklist: signing Carson Wentz to a long-term contract extension.

Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman, and Doug Pederson have all publicly committed to Wentz as the team’s franchise quarterback. It really seems like only a matter of time until a deal is done.

According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, that deal could be coming before September arrives. Check out what he recently had to say on the 97.5 The Fanatic’s Morning Show with Marc Farzetta, Tra Thomas, and Bob Cooney:

My belief, OK, my belief is that that deal will get done at some point this offseason. Before the [2019] season begins, they’ll get a deal in place. I think, from everything I’ve gathered, that the two sides have begun talking. I think both sides are motivated to get it done. I don’t think they’re close right now to getting it done. But when I talk to people around the league who look at that deal, they believe it’s going to get done. Now, I think the Eagles probably are confident that it’ll get done. They know that there’s still work to do and there’s progress to make. But the fact that the two sides have begun their discussions, are talking … we’ll see how this shakes out. But my sense is that the Eagles think it’ll get done and it’s a matter of when they can finish that off and get it together. But I think the signs point to that deal getting done this offseason at some point in time and they’ll lock up Wentz. I don’t know how it’ll shake out in terms of numbers. But the important thing is for Carson Wentz, he’ll get some guaranteed money with his injury history. And then I think he’ll get a chance to get another bite at the apple when the deal that he signs, the extension that he signs, expires. So me, that’s what I’m looking for at some point before the season begins.

Some have said the Eagles should wait to sign Wentz because he needs to prove he can stay healthy. But it’s clear that the team is already committed to Wentz regardless of what happens in 2019. It’s not like they’re just going to move on from him if he gets hurt again.

With that in mind, the Eagles should be motivated to get a Wentz extension done as soon as possible. The price is only going to rise the longer they wait. Just look at the way quarterback contracts have grown over time:

Of course, Wentz isn’t dumb. He’s not going to be in a rush to sign a long-term deal right now when his value isn’t as high as it could be. Wentz could easily decide his best option is to bet on himself, have a killer 2019 season, and then collect major cash during the 2020 season.

The Eagles shouldn’t let it get to that point, though. They need to find a way to give Wentz enough money that he’s convinced to accept instead of waiting. Wentz has some motivation to accept a contract offer now because it provides instant security to a player who’s had injury issues.

According to Over The Cap, the Eagles currently have just under $22 million in cap space. They have plenty of funds to sign Wentz. It’s just a matter of getting it done.

(I’m still guessing that the Wentz extension gets done at some point between June 16 and June 30 because I’ll be traveling during that span and it’ll be inconvenient for me. The Eagles signed Fletcher Cox to his big contract in a similar time period back in 2016 so there’s some precedent for this kind of post-minicamp activity.)