Carson Wentz benched: Trade to Indianapolis Colts makes sense eventually

Carson Wentz has been benched by the Eagles and the Indianapolis Colts could be the perfect suitor.

Could the Philadelphia Eagles really consider trading away a player they believed to be their franchise quarterback just last year? That could happen with Carson Wentz.

The North Dakota State product signed a $128 million contract extension with Philly back in June 2019 but the Eagles decided to bench the former No. 2 overall pick this week against the Green Bay Packers in favor of rookie Jalen Hurts.

The Eagles took it a step further on Tuesday when it was announced that the team would be moving forward with Hurts as their starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints, arguably the best defense in the NFL.

“I have come to a decision and I am going to go with Jalen Hurts this week against New Orleans,” said Eagles coach Doug Pederson, via the team’s official website. “We’re not where we want to be as an offense.”

Essentially, the Eagles have done the unthinkable. The metaphorical band-aid has been ripped off, and there really isn’t any coming back from this. Wentz was already broken before the benching, but his confidence has surely been completely decimated now.

Trading Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts could resurrect his career

The Eagles can’t really do anything about Wentz in 2021, seeing that he has a nearly $60 million dead cap hit if the team were to release or trade him, according to Over the Cap. But the season after, Wentz’s contract could be offloaded at a much more affordable price.

That said, a trade next season cannot be completely eliminated as a possibility. On the third day of the 2021 league year, $15 million of Wentz’s base salary for the 2022 season becomes fully-guaranteed, meaning the team has a huge decision to make this coming March.

If Hurts impresses this weekend against the Saints and shows that he has what it takes to be the Eagles’ starter the rest of the season, maybe Philadelphia pulls the trigger on getting rid of Wentz for the right price after 2020.

Wentz would be a perfect fit with the Indianapolis Colts. Indy head coach Frank Reich was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator from 2016-17, which was non-coincidentally when Wentz was playing at his best.

Under Reich, Wentz was the clear MVP-frontrunner in 2017 before tearing his ACL against the Rams in Week 14. Wentz led the Eagles to an 11-2 record and had thrown 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions to that point.

The Colts current starting quarterback, Philip Rivers, has an expiring contract at the end of the 2020 season. Reich could see Wentz as his own reclamation project. A fresh start for both the Eagles and Wentz would be beneficial, and the Colts would certainly welcome Wentz as the team’s starter next season.

Whether the Eagles would fully give up on Wentz remains to be seen. But benching him for a rookie says a lot about both Wentz and the organization.