This is misinformation season for NFL teams. A time when the rumors are flying through the air thicker than a northeast snowstorm. Fans just aren’t sure what to believe. There is no better example right now than Carson Wentz. Just days before the Super Bowl, it was revealed the Philadelphia Eagles were preparing to trade their young quarterback at his request. This after a public falling out between him and the organization last season.
Adam Schefter and others seemed relatively confident a deal would get done at some point during the weak after the big game. Now almost two full weeks have passed and nothing. People continue to wonder what the holdup is. The majority think it’s the Eagles not receiving offers they like and have decided to sit on Wentz for the time being in hopes a team gets desperate and ups their offer.
A team like the Chicago Bears for instance.
Everybody knows GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy are operating on a time limit. If they can’t deliver a winning season in 2021, the odds are high they could be fired. They need an upgrade at quarterback. Wentz might be their best shot. So one would think they’d make an aggressive offer to get him. Except that hasn’t happened.
Albert Breer of the MMQB went on The Herd recently and surmised what the holdup could be. He still believes Chicago is the frontrunner for Wentz. One of the problems isn’t so much the pricetag as it is the quarterback doesn’t want to join the Bears. He’d much prefer going to Indianapolis. That assessment was quickly shot down by Eytan Shander.
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He is a veteran of Philadelphia sports radio going back a decade and has covered the Eagles for a long time. He also writes for the Philly Voice. Based on what he’s hearing? The Bears not only aren’t the favorites to land Carson Wentz. They aren’t even in the discussion anymore.
At this point the Eagles are just negotiating with the Colts. It's the difference on the back end. Eagles trying to get that 2nd 2 instead of a 3rd/4th conditional. Chicago is out. Been wrong before but feels like we are winding down talks.
— eytan (@shandershow) February 16, 2021
Bears were never really in it imo
— eytan (@shandershow) February 16, 2021
This flies in the face of other Carson Wentz rumors out of Philly
Maybe that’s why it stands out. Shander is the first one close to the situation there who said anything like this. Perhaps a sign that it’s true because it does nothing to help the Eagles in their trade negotiations. A clear indication he’s probably not being fed that information as some others probably are. It also adds credence to a report by SM stating the Bears’ interest in Wentz wasn’t nearly as strong as people claimed.
A mixture of his bloated contract, the injury history, his significant regression in 2020, and the falling out with Doug Pederson (a good friend of Matt Nagy) made this trade difficult to believe. Yes, the Bears are desperate and yes they have John DeFilippo (who coached Wentz in 2017) as their passing game coordinator. Yet there just isn’t enough viable evidence to think they’d bet their jobs on him.
Especially if the guy never wanted to come here in the first place.
Carson Wentz may still end up in Chicago. Things can change fast in the NFL. Still, it just seems like way too much smoke has built up for it to be believable. Pace never tips his hand so obviously on a quarterback move. It’s quite possible he is letting Eagles GM Howie Roseman use the Bears as an easy target to cover his real intentions. What those are of course remain a mystery.