NEWSLETTER
The quarterback frenzy is going to be wild.
Brett made a dominoes analogy earlier while piecing together items from Michael Silver’s piece at NFL.com. But to me, this is looking more like a card game of 52 pick-up. Everything is on the table and good luck sorting through the mess.
As we’ve built up toward the upcoming offseason, the one thing that feels certain-ish is that the Bears will target a veteran. And it’s something that’s been on my mind since Jay Glazer reported Chicago will be “big players” on the quarterback carousel. That is, in part, because one of the anecdotes in Glazer’s reporting hinted that quarterbacks we otherwise wouldn’t expect to be on the market will be available in one way or another. We’ve already seen it with Jared Goff leaving the Rams.
But will Goff’s 2016 Draft classmate be next?
From Super Bowl Live: The #Eagles are getting trade calls on QB Carson Wentz… what it means 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/Crhms3jUag
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 4, 2021
Adam Schefter dropped a bomb earlier today regarding Carson Wentz and the Eagles. Check out the full interview belowhttps://t.co/H0FDEsjpGV pic.twitter.com/1DrDtjG1Up
— The John Kincade Show (@975JKShow) February 3, 2021
There is ample buzz building about the availability of Carson Wentz this offseason. Between NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport hearing that teams have called inquiring about Wentz and ESPN’s Adam Schefter guessing that he’ll be traded, I’m getting my popcorn ready to keep an eye on how this saga unfolds.
And I’ll do so while also figuring where the Bears fit in the grand scheme of things.
In Brad Biggs’ look-ahead to the quarterback movement, the Tribune Bears big-foot writes: “Some are speculating whether the Bears could be in play for Carson Wentz, but you wonder what kind of scouting report former Eagles coach Doug Pederson would provide his friend Nagy.”
The Bears fit is an intriguing one. Quarterbacks Coach John DeFilippo has a history with Wentz dating back to his time with the Eagles. Wentz played his best ball under DeFilippo’s tutelage, putting up MVP-caliber numbers in 2017 before his season-ending injury. And because Matt Nagy and Doug Pederson have a long-standing relationship, the Bears could have a nice pow-wow with Pederson that could provide insight on whether a pursuit of Wentz is a sensible one to make.
What puts this all in question is Wentz’s production since his return from injury. Wentz has played just one full 16-game season. But even then, he was unable to finish the Eagles’ playoff game because of an injury he suffered in the first half. In his last 35 games, Wentz has completed 63.5 percent of his passes, thrown for 9,733 yards, 64 touchdowns, and 29 interceptions. Respectable numbers, to be sure. But the fact that 15 of those 29 picks came last season is quite the red flag.
Nevertheless, Wentz is an intriguing option. He just turned 28, has played at a high level, and has the pedigree of a second overall pick that should intrigue the Bears. But between the potential trade compensation and cap considerations after signing a mega-deal extension, I have questions about squeezing that fit into Chicago. However, seeing that that team taking on Wentz’s contract won’t have to swallow harder than an Eagles team taking the brunt of the blow, this situation is worth monitoring moving forward.
