Carson Wentz trade rumors won’t be quelled with Philip Rivers retiring

With Philip Rivers officially retiring from the NFL, the ‘Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts’ trade rumors aren’t about to die down anytime soon. Frank Reich’s team needs a new starting quarterback and the Philadelphia Eagles might be able to provide him with one.

But is this potential reunion realistic?

Well, we previously heard that Wentz was expected to request a trade and that Indy is a preferred destination. That was before the Eagles fired Doug Pederson, though. Pederson’s exit reportedly makes a Wentz return more likely. Eagles leadership is reportedly telling prospective head coaching candidates that they want Wentz to be this team’s quarterback moving forward.

Of course, that’s the position the Eagles would need to publicly maintain even if they did really want to trade Wentz. They’d only be damaging their leverage if they made it look like they wanted to get rid of him. The Eagles won’t be openly shopping Wentz ... but that doesn’t mean they’re not open to dealing him for the right price.

Will teams really come calling for No. 11, though? He just had a season where he was arguably the worst starting quarterback in the NFL. There are major concerns about his coachability. And to the point where there’s question if Reich even wants to work with Wentz again. Via the Inquirer's Jeff McLane:

Reich and the Colts could have interest with Philip Rivers a pending free agent and near 40. But it would take a leap of faith and significant cost. “I’m not sure Frank would take him,” a source familiar with Reich’s thinking said.

It’s hardly ‘Wentz or bust’ for the Colts. Matthew Stafford makes a lot of sense for them. The Colts showed interest in trading for Nick Foles last year before the Chicago Bears landed him instead. Reich always spoke fondly of impending free agent Nate Sudfeld, whom Jeffrey Lurie recently described as “unstoppable.”

The guess here is that the Colts will gauge the Eagles’ price for Wentz and determine it’s too high before moving on to a different option. Can’t quite entirely rule out Wentz ending up in Indy, though.