Carson Wentz wants out of Philly, Colts an early front-runner

Carson Wentz Eagles
Carson Wentz wants out of Philadelphia.
Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

This very well could be it for Carson Wentz as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Prior to the Eagles’ season finale against the Washington Football Team, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that Wentz’s relationship with the franchise is “all but fractured” and will ask for a trade this offseason.

This comes after he fell out of favor with head coach Doug Pederson amidst the worst season of his professional career, resulting in his benching in Week 13 for rookie passer Jalen Hurts — who took over for the remainder of the season.

Hurts has run with the opportunity of being the No. 1 man under center for the Eagles, sparking a dormant offense and putting up impressive numbers against the New Orleans Saints in an upset win and the Arizona Cardinals in a narrow defeat.

If Wentz is on the trading block, a preferred destination will be the Indianapolis Colts, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich is the head coach of the Colts and was the man behind Wentz’s most successful seasons in Philadelphia, including a 2017 season in which he was in the MVP conversation before injuries took their all-too-familiar toll.

A move to Indianapolis is contingent on whether the 39-year-old Philip Rivers retires, though. The long-time Charger threw for over 4,000 yards in his first season with the Colts and had them in the playoff conversation for most of the year.

Wentz is completing just the second year of his five-year, $128 million deal and trading him would remarkably save over $800,000 in cap space. His cap hit would decrease from $34.6 million to $33.8 million and he’d be entirely off the Eagles’ books by 2022. He posted career lows in completion percentage and quarterback rating while his 15 interceptions in 12-plus games led the NFL.