Eagles News: NFL insider doesn’t think Carson Wentz trade will return first-round pick

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Bowles’s Super Bowl Game Plan, Watt’s Departure and Texans Mess, Trevor Lawrence as Advertised - MMQB
1) I think the Eagles have to trade Carson Wentz soon. The market’s not strong for Wentz for a variety of reasons. The contract (a team trading for him is locked in for two years, at $47.4 million) is one issue. The tape, which was horrific last year, is another. A third less-talked-about problem is the growing reputation Wentz has of not reacting well to hard coaching. All of which is why the Eagles’ initial asking price—the return the Lions got for Matthew Stafford—was enough of a non-starter for some teams to drop out of the running altogether. Ultimately, I think GM Howie Roseman’s goal, in asking for so much, was to come away with a 1 and something else. At this point, I don’t think he gets a first-rounder for Wentz at all, without some strings (maybe a salary dump or picks going back) attached. Which, if you look at what we were saying when Wentz was benched in December, isn’t all that surprising. This is just who Wentz is as a quarterback right now. And the proof is there in that the teams that know him best, the Bears (John DeFilippo) and Colts (Frank Reich, Press Taylor, Mike Groh) haven’t put together a strong enough offer to get Philly to jump. My guess is he lands in Chicago, and that’d be good for him. DeFilippo played the bad cop in Philly for Wentz over the quarterback’s first two years in the league, and going there would force Wentz to confront the lingering hard-coaching question head on. (Indy would be good for him, too, for a lot of obvious reasons.)

Deconstructing Super Bowl LV And The 5 Bucs Plays That Shaped It - FMIA
Eagles want more for Carson Wentz than a mid-first-round pick, and that’s creating a stall.

Report: Eagles have spoken to Seahawks and Colts about Zach Ertz trade - BGN
The Philadelphia Eagles have spoken to the Indianapolis Colts and the Seattle Seahawks about a Zach Ertz trade, according to a report from Ed Kracz from Eagle Maven. This report lines up with what we’ve been hearing about Ertz this offseason. Back in January, Tony Pauline said he was “told unequivocally that [...] Ertz will not play for the Philadelphia Eagles next year.” Not long after that, Stampede Blue reported that Ertz was drawing interest from the Colts. Ertz, who turns 31 this season and desires a contract extension, doesn’t fit the timeline for an Eagles team that’s aiming to get younger. The Birds can either trade or cut him to clear $4.7 million in much-needed cap space relief this offseason. The important thing to note there, however, is that Ertz can’t be traded to help the Eagles get under the cap (they’re currently $49 million OVER) before the new league year starts on March 17. If they want to trade him, they’ll have to find other ways to clear enough space to keep him past the official start of free agency. Otherwise, the Eagles might just have to release Ertz.

Report: Colts Have Had Trade Conversations with Eagles Regarding TE Zach Ertz - Stampede Blue
Now, the former 2018 NFL First-Team All-Pro, Ertz, is neither currently Kansas City Chiefs’ freak tight end Travis Kelce nor quite his old star self, but he could theoretically provide the Colts more of a dynamic player at the position—if he can stay fully healthy. If trading for Ertz, the Colts may elect to rework his contract, providing him an additional year on his current contract—while lowering his potential 2021 cap hit. The franchise could also ‘wait-and-see’ if the Eagles ultimately release him anyways—without having to surrender any draft compensation at all and sign him purely on Indy’s own terms. What is clear though is that the Colts do have interest in Ertz this offseason, but it’s just a matter of what means Indianapolis could choose to eventually acquire him with.

Mailbag: If the Eagles get a first-round pick for Carson Wentz, is it better in 2021 or 2022? - PhillyVoice
A look at the last five times the Eagles made a pick somewhere in the 20’s: 2020: Jalen Reagor, 21st overall ... 2019: Andre Dillard, 22nd overall ... 2015: Nelson Agholor, 20th overall ... 2014: Marcus Smith, 26th overall ... 2011: Danny Watkins, 23rd overall. In summary, gross. But beyond that, personally, I don’t think there’s a drastic difference in the quality of prospect you’ll find at pick No. 20 vs. one that you’ll find at, saaayyy, pick No. 30. However, there is indeed a big difference in who you can get at pick No. 20 and who is till there at pick No. 10. The Eagles have a multi-year rebuild ahead of them, and as such, it shouldn’t matter whether they have an extra first-round pick in 2021 or 2022. I’d much rather roll the dice and hope for a higher pick in 2022 than the ones the Bears and Colts currently have in the early 20’s in 2021. And seeing as whoever you trade with would be rolling with the worst starting quarterback in the NFL a year ago (statistically), I’d like my chances of that 2022 pick being better than 20th or 21st.

No Quick Fix - Iggles Blitz
The 2021 Eagles are not a player away. Unless Reggie White, Brian Dawkins, Seth Joyner and Donovan McNabb somehow end up on the roster and they’re all magically 25-years old, this team will be watching the Super Bowl on TV. There is no quick fix for this team. That is good and bad news. The bad news, this team lacks talent. The good news, they have a lot of flexibility when it comes to the draft and offseason moves. The Eagles aren’t locked in to a certain position. It will take multiple years of drafting to bring in young talent to revitalize the roster. I’ve been studying draft prospects and trying to figure out what the Eagles should do. One of the real keys is for the scouting staff to talk to the new coaching staff and all get on the same page. Let’s talk about cornerbacks for a second. The Eagles could have a very different group of choices in the second round.

How to think about the Carson Wentz trade saga (if you absolutely have to) - Pro Football Network
The Eagles have until the start of the league year to trade Wentz. With no overwhelming offer on the table, they may wait a week or two for official 2021 cap numbers to be finalized, restricted free agent tenders around the league to be made, rumors about disgruntled Wilson-level quarterbacks to simmer down, and other housekeeping chores that will make everyone’s cap situations clearer. At the same time, a $10 million bonus kicks in if Wentz is on the Eagles’ roster a few days after the start of the league year. Roseman and the Eagles cannot afford to dilly-dally in the hopes that Washington suddenly enters the bidding, only to discover that the Colts nabbed Marcus Mariota for a third-round pick, the Bears opted for Darnold, and the Wentz market has suddenly dried up.

2021 Eagles Offseason Preview - NBC Sports Edge
Carson Wentz (QB2/3) - It may be a painful process, but Wentz is likely to get moved before the NFL Draft. Whether it’s Indianapolis, Chicago, or elsewhere, Wentz’ 2021 situation is likely to be similar to his less-than-ideal 2020 situation where he was the QB21 per game while throwing to dusty veterans and struggling youngsters. Assuming Wentz is traded, he is likely to get a full season as the starter, solely based on his contract and the capital it will reportedly take to trade for him (a first-rounder or a couple of second rounders). Betting on a turnaround is a big risk, but weirder things have happened. He ranks 29th out of 35 qualifying quarterbacks since 2018 (when he returned from his back injury) in both passing EPA per dropback and completion percentage over expected.

Doug Pederson shouldn’t have been fired by the Eagles, a fact lost in the craziness - Inquirer
None of the reasons surrounding Pederson’s departure merited dismissal. NFL sources have indicated that Lurie balked at Pederson’s demands. After five seasons of Lurie’s meddling, Pederson finally insisted on hiring his own coaching staff. After five seasons of Roseman’s poor personnel decisions, Pederson wanted a louder voice in building the roster. After five seasons of polishing Wentz — an FCS (Division I-AA) project that Pederson turned into a competent and often scintillating NFL quarterback — Lurie believed that Pederson could not fix him now, or that Pederson wasn’t interested in fixing him now, or that Wentz would refuse to be repaired by Pederson, now and forever. None of that matters. All of these reasons combined are not reason enough to fire Pederson. He was a good coach who won lots of games when he had decent players. That’s the bar.

Cowboys QB Ben DiNucci was graded as the worst quarterback of all 59 that started a game in 2020 - Blogging The Boys
You will note that Dak Prescott is still ahead of a lot of starters in the NFL at number 16 and Andy Dalton finished in front of a lot of guys that were expected to start for their teams all season (shout out to Carson Wentz). Given the way the seasons went for them, neither of these rankings are shocking. Also not at all surprising is that Ben DiNucci was the worst quarterback to start a game throughout the 2020 season. The assessment notes that it was never fair to expect much from him so early on in his career that clearly needed developing. Garrett Gilbert (top 51, baby!) looked much better than him a week after DiNucci’s start having barely spent any time in the Cowboys offense. Sometimes the difference between veterans and rookies (specifically of the seventh-round variety) is that simple.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler Guesses The Washington Football Team Could Land Allen Robinson - Hogs Haven
Recently, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler took a stab at where some potential big-name free agents could land. Fowler had Bears receiver Allen Robinson landing in DC. If this were to come true, he and Terry McLaurin could perfectly compliment one another in Scott Turner’s offense. Robinson has been know throughout his career as an “air ballerina”. He consistently wins one-on-one with exceptional leaping ability, body control and great hands. His presence would force over-the-top help to decide between doubling him or McLaurin - whoever isn’t getting doubled could crush an opposing defense.

NFL Daily Kickoff, Monday - JJ Watt Released + NFC Cap Move‪s‬ - The SB Nation NFL Show
On today’s episode, RJ Ochoa walks you through the Texans being “classy”, the NFC freeing up cap space, and there’s been a resolution to the Urban Meyer debacle.

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