Getty Images
As the Eagles try to build leverage for a Carson Wentz deal, circumstances make it increasingly difficult for the Eagles to maximize returns on a quarter whose contract they would like to dump.
John Clark of NBC Sports Philly-delphia recently reported that “a group of Eagles young receiversPlan to train with quarterback Jalen Hurt in Texas sometime next month.
No similar reports have appeared about Wentz. Presumably this is because Wentz still wants to and because momentum has been pointing in the direction of a trade for a while.
The process was marred by the team’s desire to get more than was offered or not. Ron Jaworski, Eagles, recently said the Colts only offered a few second rounds. The Philadelphia investigator also reported that no first round was placed on the table.
The question is whether the Eagles will buy the best they can get before a $ 10 million roster bonus is payable on March 19, or they will pay the money to Wentz and wait for a better offer to materialize later.
They have played the winning game before and won. In 2016, the Eagles were presumably ready to play Sam Bradford for Week One, with Wentz (then a rookie) on the bench. The Vikings lost to Teddy Bridgewater not long before the start of the season, and the Eagles quickly unleashed a first-round and a fourth-round pick for Bradford.
However, serious quarterback injuries, especially in practice, are extremely rare. Even then, many teams are content to opt for the next man rather than pay a king’s ransom for a plug-and-play replacement.
The Eagles can also wait for the outcome of the current quarterback carousel. Maybe hitting a quarter-needed team in the free agency or the trade market, which gets the team interested in Wentz. Maybe a team planning to meet the needs of the concept is not getting the guy he wants.
Either way, the Eagles play a dangerous game of chess, checkers and chicken. They want more than they are offered. To gain more, they must lose the offer they can already lose.
Eventually, owner Jeffrey Lurie will have to be persuaded to write a $ 10 million check to Wentz as the seed money for an attempt to attract a better bird than the one they currently have in their hands. Given the real chance that the money could be wasted, a team like the Colts simply has to sit back and wait.
Maybe the Eagles will eventually pass the roster bonus deadline and pay the $ 10 million, if only to get a better trading package for Wentz. Indeed, it seems the Eagles are as worried (if not more concerned) about what the trade will look like than simply getting the best chance for Wentz.