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If only the Chicago Bears had a franchise quarterback, this wouldn’t keep happening. The Bears are linked yet again to a different signal-caller, but this time the rumors seem to be flying a bit faster and landing with a tad more impact. On Friday, Bears analyst Brandon Robinson Tweeted that Chicago had the top offer in for 28-year-old quarterback Carson Wentz, and the rumblings grew from there.
The most outlandish rumor had Chicago sending two first-round picks and a player for Wentz, which seems so far-fetched it cannot be true…right?
Les Bowen, a well-respected and well-sourced writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, said Friday that “Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has placed a high asking price on Wentz, which probably would translate into multiple draft picks,” so it’s looking like Philly will want major compensation if they trade their former second overall pick. But will the Bears send away precious draft capital in exchange for an injury-prone quarterback with a ton of question marks?
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Wentz May Have to Restructure His Contract if Traded
Eagles sideline reporter Howard Eskin noted that Roseman and Bears GM Ryan Pace are good friends. Eskin also noted that should the deal go down, it would likely happen early next week, after the Super Bowl.
Another noteworthy detail? Should the Bears trade for Wentz, the deal would likely involve a restructuring of Wentz’s contact.
According to salary cap expert Brad Spielberger of Over the Cap, a restructure of his contract could mean an increase to the dead cap hit Philly would already be taking by trading Wentz — so if Wentz really wants to leave — and there are rumors that he does — he may have to restructure his deal and ask for less money in order to get out. Right now, the Eagles would have $33.8 million in dead cap money if they were to trade him, so something will have to give.
Wentz, who signed a four-year, $128 million contract extension with Philadelphia in 2019, is slated to make around $47.4 million over the next two years, and then his contact has an easy out.
It would make little sense for the Bears to send more than one medium-high draft pick in exchange for Wentz, but Pace did give Mike Glennon $18 million guaranteed while saying he was “fired up” about it, so anything is possible.
Nick Foles & Carson Wentz: Reunited in Chicago?
One interesting element to all the hoopla surrounding Wentz is the possibility of a reunion with Nick Foles, who served as his backup in 2017 before replacing Wentz after he tore his ACL. We all know how the story went for Foles and Philly after that.
Foles is under contract in 2021, and barring a miracle, he’ll still be in a Bears uniform. Pace had this to say about Foles during his year-end press conference last month:
With Foles specifically … he’s under contract for us. I respect the way he handled a lot of adversity this year, not just for himself in the quarterback room. He was a leader in the room as a starter or as a backup. And I think you go back to when he was playing and there were some things that, in fairness to him, the offensive line was a little unsettled and the run game wasn’t quite where we wanted it to be. And then unfortunately he got injured. So I think there’s still some evaluation left out there on him.
Pace also noted the team was going to do everything in its power to improve the quarterback position this offseason, so we’ll see what develops.
The Colts Also Rumored to Be Interested in Wentz
The Indianapolis Colts are the other rumored team to be inquiring about Wentz, and they seem like a decent fit. Colts head coach Frank Reich was Wentz’s offensive coordinator with the Eagles for two years, and Philip Rivers just retired. Indy’s general manager, Chris Ballard, said the following Friday on The Dan Dakich Show, which should resonate with Bears fans quite a bit:
“You’ve got to be right. You can’t move up (in the draft) and take the wrong guy. History has proven that. If you just look at the last 10 years of drafts and the quarterbacks, the miss rate is a lot higher than it is for the hit rate,” Ballard said, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, adding: “There’s a fine line between being aggressive and desperate. We are not going to operate in a desperate world. That’s what the world does. That’s what Twitter does. That’s what people do.”
Biggs also noted that the Bears are desperate right now, and they may act drastically as a result. Pace and the Bears were also desperate when the draft hit in 2017. And the team — particularly its fans — have been paying for it ever since.
READ NEXT: Bears Have ‘Top Offer’ in Trade Talks for Former Second Overall Pick: Report
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