NEWSLETTER
The Carson Wentz saga is over: He’s going to the Colts.
Not only that, it sure sounds like the Bears weren’t as involved as previously thought:
Colts were really only spot that made sense. Bears did their homework but never made an offer, Colts were the players in this. Eagles got what they could
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) February 18, 2021
Sure felt like the #Bears were monitoring from afar during the last leg of the #Eagles' talks with the #Colts. Whether it was Wentz's desire to head to Indy over Chicago or some other factor, it felt like Indy or bust the last few days. https://t.co/G8pL3tF0OW
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 18, 2021
In the final days, the Colts wound up being the only real suitor for Carson Wentz. The Bears, per sources, did a ton of homework, and had institutional knowledge on him, but never actually made an offer for Wentz.
They were the stalking horse all along.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 18, 2021
The Bears went from being a front-runner pushing hardest to get Wentz to stalking the horse all along? That’s curious.
Seeing reports surface doubting the Bears’ interest in the first place is rather convenient, to say the least. Then again, it’s not all that surprising. Not after negotiations through the media became a thing, a wild reported offer from the Bears was thrown into the fray, Indy’s offer was publicly leaked, and Dave Wannstedt shared perspective from Philly friends a belief that Wentz was Bears bound. So much of the Bears reported interest was centralized to the point where, the longer it dragged on, the less likely it felt as if Wentz would be a Bear.
To be clear, I won’t doubt the Bears had an interest in trading for Wentz. However, reading the situation through to its conclusion has me landing on the idea that Wentz’s preference to go to Indy played a role in this. As did the Bears’ insistence on not overpaying for a player who didn’t necessarily want to come in the first place. I wonder if the Eagles are pleased with the type of return they netted while using the Bears as leverage. Oh, well. All’s well that ends well. Onward.
