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The Philadelphia Eagles, who were officially suspended from the post-season, play their last game against Washington tonight. Immediately after the game, planning for 2021 begins.
As for the quarterback position, the Eagles will take a break before undertaking a full and complete evaluation. Overall, the Eagles believe that Carson Wentz, appetizer backup, can be restored and that he can resume his successful career.
The first question is whether Wentz will be re-installed as an appetizer for 2021 and whether Jalen Hurts will compete for the second round of Wentz’s second round and 2020. In theory, the Eagles could also decide to make Hurts the starter, without competition between him and Wentz. The outcome seems the least likely at the moment, mainly because the Eagles still believe in Wentz.
In light of the investment made to trade Wentz in 2016, the decision to retain him as Super Bowl LIII MVP Nick Foles, and investment in the form of a contract with an annual value of $ 32 million, can the Eagles not and does not want to lose confidence in Wentz due to one bad season – especially since the season had a result of injuries on the offensive, and from tonight’s game 14 different combinations of players in the five starting places.
While there is no true comparison to Wentz, who played well enough in his first three years to earn a market value extension, he still had a solid year and then fell back badly, it is not entirely unequivocal that quarterbacks on a franchise level did not experience an off-season earlier. in their careers. In 2006, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had 18 assists and 23 interceptions, a season after winning a Super Bowl. In 2001, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning slipped from 33 passes and 15 interceptions to 26 and 23 as his team struck from 10-6 to 6-10.
So why was Wentz chosen for Hurts? The fact that the Eagles are part of a division that struggled across the board in 2020 kept the team on the lookout for a playoffs longer than it should have been. With an opening in the late season to take the NFC Eastern crown, coach Doug Pederson decided to try and give the team a spark by turning to Hurts.
But Hurts was not set up to replace Wentz. The Eagles realize, more than any team, that they need two viable backs at all times. From 2017 to 2019, the Eagles had six playoff games and Wentz took a total of nine shots in those games, all of which took place in the 2019 playoffs.
The Eagles, like many teams, attach great value to the rugby quarterback position and consider it a top-15 spot in the rankings. However, this message may not have been fully conveyed to Wentz, given Jay Glazer’s report last month that the arrival of Hurts’ trust had damaged Wentz’s confidence.
Whatever the Eagles choose, they can easily carry the Wentz and Hurts contracts under the salary cap, as Hurts has a rookie contract for another three seasons. While things will get more than a little uncomfortable if Hurts starts next year with a salary of $ 883,000, while Wentz drops to the bank with a capitalization of $ 34.6 million, the total cap and cash investment in the quarterback will position does not expel things. beat for the Eagles.
The Eagles are also not worried about the strategic leak that Wentz does not want to stay on if he is not the starter. An NFL quarterback who is an appetizer is expected to want to stay the appetizer.
A trade remains possible depending on the decisions the Eagles have made after evaluating the full quarterback position. It will not be easy to attach the right value or to deal it with another team, and the Eagles have proven that they are not simply giving away quarterbacks. Indeed, Wentz’s career began after the Eagles planned to start the 2016 season with Sam Bradford at center until Vikings full-back Teddy Bridgewater suffered a serious knee injury in late August and the Vikings a first- and fourth-round pick. chose to have Bradford installed. Wentz as an appetizer.
Five years later, Wentz can be installed again as an appetizer. Or he might have to compete for it. Or he could end up on the bench. The final result will not be known for a while; what is known is that the Eagles currently believe that Wentz’s loss of performance will eventually be a short-term thing.