Getty Jimmy Garoppolo faces an uncertain future with the San Francisco 49ers.
The wild rumors keep flying about what the Philadelphia Eagles might do with Carson Wentz. And where they might send the “broken” franchise quarterback in a potential trade. Some candidates make more sense than others.
The Indianapolis Colts have leaped to the front of that list, with Wentz’s strong connection to Frank Reich being the biggest storyline. The New England Patriots and Chicago Bears are also garnering a lot of national attention as possible suitors. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell entered the San Francisco 49ers into the mix.
While Wentz’s contract would make it hard — estimated at $33 million per year, but only a $25.4 million cap figure — it’s not impossible if the 49ers really want him. San Francisco could release oft-injured quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to free up $23.6 million in cap space in 2021, per Barnwell. The franchise is projected to have about $22 million in cap space, per OverTheCap. And, remember, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan had kind words for Wentz back in October.
“He’s an unbelievable player and he still is,” Shanahan said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I don’t see anything that’s changed. It’s a matter of time before he plays at a high level. He’s too good not to.”
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Organization Still Believes in Wentz: Report
From @NFLGameDay: #Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has the chance to start today and keep starting, which could lead to a very interesting offseason for QB Carson Wentz. Story: t.co/Ggz8fdWCW2 and video 👇🏻 👇🏻👇🏻
There have been several reports claiming that people inside the NovaCare Complex still believe in Wentz. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Eagles quarterback “simply needs a deep breath” and his sources think Wentz is “fixable.”
Those people in the building believe that Carson simply needs a deep breath, a reboot and a little time to get back to what he was. They anticipate Wentz returning to the forefront. They believe he’s fixable.
But if Hurts impresses in one start, he’ll get another. Then another. If he impresses in all four, it gets complicated.
Doug Pederson Denies Communication Issues
One theory on Wentz’s recent struggles has centered on Doug Pederson’s play-calling. The Eagles head coach seems to simplify the offense when the backup quarterback is in the game. Any number two signal-caller (see: Nick Foles), not just Jalen Hurts.
“I look at maybe what I do or how I call a game, maybe I can approach it a little bit differently moving forward that way,” Pederson said. “But that’s something that I haven’t — listen, teams have a lot of film on your starter. They have ways to prepare for your starter. They can take away certain things and we’ve got to be able to compensate for that.”
But Pederson reiterated that his relationship with Wentz remains strong during his media availability on Monday. He also refuted the notion that he and Wentz have any communication issues.
“Carson and I, our relationship’s great. We’ve had great communication,” Pederson said. “I just look at this year and the amount of adversity that we’ve faced and played with all season and trying to make things work. But there’s been no issue between us.”
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