Now that the NFL’s 2020 is officially over, I would heat up the chat about player movement in the league, with the hottest name yet the Carson Wentz, the Philadelphia Eagles fullback.
The top two teams linked to Wentz are still the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts, and most believe an agreement can be reached within the next day or two.
This morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said he expected Wentz to trade ‘relatively soon’ because the Eagles had received enough interest to make a settled case. He still has the Bears and the Colts as the two most likely destinations, but said other teams have joined as well.
Mike Kaye of NJ.com also reports that the Bears and Colts are in the “driver’s seat” in any trade for Wentz, but it is said that a “third unknown team is in the mix.”
There’s been a bit of talk about the Houston Texans being the third team, but our own Brandon Robinson heard that the 49ers had signed up with Philly. Robinson also has the Bears and Colts as the top two teams in the run-up to Wentz, with the Bears still as the frontrunner.
Steven Holder, which covers the Colts for The Athletic, says that the Colts are definitely going for Wentz, and that the original price of the Eagles was two preferences. Holder also says that the Colts would never offer so much to Wentz and that the team is confident that they can bring Wentz back to the level he showed before his abysmal 2020 season.
The Chicago Tribunes Dan Wiederer reports that the Bears and Eagles have talked about Wentz, but he is not sure how far the talks have reached.
The Tribune’s Brad Biggs believes the loudness of a Wentz-Chicago affair is so loud that it could mean Eagles GM Howie Roseman leaking things to the media and using the Bears’ desperation for a quarterback to raise the price in the league .
The theory was also shared by Kaye in the NJ.com article I linked above. ‘While there is a feeling that GM Howie Roseman is trying to drive up the market, the person (source of Kaye) said that Chris Ballard, GM Ballts, and Ryan Pace, Bears GM, remained’ disciplined ‘during negotiations. ‘
Leaks usually do not come from the Pace and Bears side of transactions, so this theory makes sense.
UPDATE: Kaye is now Tweeting that he will not be surprised if there are several players involved with Wentz.
There have been previous conversations about the Bears sending Nick Foles and another attacking player to the Eagles, but perhaps there are players who include Philly as well.
UPDATE: Mike Garafollo was on the NFL Network earlier today and he said he’s almost 100% sure Wentz will be traded, and that the Bears and Colts are in the mix with a few other teams, and he said the Bears and Colts are also monitoring other available backs.
The other QBs could be Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold or Derek Carr, all three of whom are rumored to be on the trading block, but perhaps that also means the Deshaun Watson whip is still being played for these two teams.
From a Colts perspective, it could also mean the Nick Foles of Chicago, as he is rumored to be reuniting with Frank Reich, Indy’s head coach.
UPDATE: According to Adam Caplan, an NFL Insider for FOX and SiriusXM, who also covers the Eagles, the Bears have no plans to trade two first-round picks for Wentz.
Here’s what Caplan said via Inside the Birds.
‘As I understand it, the Bears are not interested in giving up two first rounds. They gave up two first-round picks [in 2018] to get Khalil Mack and then some. They do not want to do that. I laughed quite a bit at the poeple the comapare wants to put together [Matthew] Stafford trade. People, Matthew Stafford, is a proven NFL quarterback, who has never been predicted. Carson Wentz may be a very talented full-back, but he’s on the bench. The Bears want the man, it’s based on multiple sources. They want the man, but I can not see [Bears GM] Ryan Pace comes in here. ‘
I do wonder if Pace would give up two first picks for another QB.
As for the last two updates, it seems like Pace may be leaking things to counter the stuff Roseman is leaking. The gameplay is nice to watch, I just hope Pace does not end up bidding on himself in whatever deal he’s going to make.