There is a lot of hearsay going around the rumor mill right now. Nobody can be totally sure how involved the Chicago Bears are in the pursuit of Carson Wentz. Some say their interest is overblown. Others believe it is strong. Either way, one thing is clear. The Philadelphia Eagles have set the price high. Too high. Enough to where the initial momentum for a deal to get done that began a week ago has significantly slowed down.
The general belief among the Philadelphia beat is that GM Howie Roseman wants two 1st round picks for Wentz. No team is willing to give up anything close to it. Including the Bears. Thus far the Eagles have remained defiant, believing if they wait long enough somebody will up their offer. There are no signs this is going to happen. In fact, it might be having the opposite effect.
Enough to where the Bears may consider bowing out.
Mike Kaye of NJ.com has stayed on top of the situation from the start. From what he understands, the Eagles haven’t been able to get Chicago or Indianapolis (the other primary suitor) to up their offer despite obvious tactics through the media to help drive up the price. GMs Ryan Pace and Chris Ballard aren’t biting. Apparently, Pace is reaching a point where he is starting to feel it’s no longer worth the effort.
“The Indianapolis Colts have asked for additional compensation — a player, players or picks — along with Wentz in order to get close to the Eagles’ demands, according to a third person with knowledge of negotiations, who also was granted anonymity. That person said another undisclosed Eagles player has been brought up in discussions.
There’s a sense that the Chicago Bears — another interested party — are growing impatient, one of the sources said. According to the person, the Bears believe the Eagles have overvalued Wentz.”
It isn’t certain whether the Bears have made an actual offer or not. Some believe so and it could involve the 20th overall pick. Others think it hasn’t gotten that far because the Eagles’ asking price is still way too high. If nothing else, it’s encouraging to hear that Pace isn’t going to let himself get roped into a desperate overpay for a quarterback who clearly needs a lot of fixing.
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Chicago Bears are right to feel baffled by Eagles’ stubbornness
This isn’t the Matthew Stafford situation. He went for two 1st round picks, a 3rd round pick and Jared Goff. Yet most agree that the extra 1st rounder was more to take Goff’s bloated contract off the Rams’ books than anything. Not only that, but Goff wasn’t followed by nearly as many problems as Wentz who had a career-worst season in 2020, got benched, had a falling out with his head coach, and is now surrounded by rumors of him being a locker room problem.
The Chicago Bears are absolutely right in their evaluation. Wentz isn’t worth two 1st round picks. One could argue he’s not even worth one. Especially with how expensive his contract is. Any team that trades for him will be on the hook for $47 million over the next two seasons. That is a lot of money to take on for what is clearly a reclamation project.
Money the Bears would struggle to find given their salary cap situation.
It feels like this is going to end one of two ways. Either the Eagles will finally drop their price to where Chicago can make it work or Pace will leave his offer on the table and move the search elsewhere. Wentz is a talented player but he’s not the only option out there. The Bears know they can’t afford to stay fixed on him forever. If they do that and fail to get him? It could throw a wrench into their entire offseason.