The Philadelphia Eagles have parted ways with franchise quarterback Carson Wentz. On Thursday, the Eagles agreed to trade the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft to the Indianapolis Colts. In return, the Eagles will receive a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional second-round pick in 2022. The second-round pick could turn into a first if Wentz plays at least 75 percent of the Colts’ offensive snaps or 70 percent and Indianapolis makes the playoffs.

The Eagles, four years removed from surrendering five draft picks to move up to take Carson Wentz second overall in the 2016 draft, and then extending him with a $128 million contract less than two years ago, will now take on a cap hit in excess of $33 million in order to ship Wentz to Indianapolis.

A year ago, the Eagles were entering the 2020 season with three straight playoff appearances and two years removed from their first Super Bowl in franchise history. Now, they have an entirely new coaching staff, and will enter the 2021 season with Jalen Hurts as their QB1. It’s important to note that the Eagles did not make this trade because they have full confidence in Hurts moving forward. All indications point towards a few years of rebuilding the franchise, less than four years removed from their first ever Super Bowl victory. The window to “win now” is officially closed. The quarterback factory however, is open for business.

Hurts will be the starter heading into the 2021 season. He’s good enough to start for the Eagles this season, but not good enough to steer the Eagles away from drafting a quarterback with the number six pick in the NFL draft this year. Realistically, giving Hurts a season-long tryout as the Eagles starting quarterback position is something that the Eagles will most likely do. I doubt the Eagles will take a shot at a middle-round quarterback, so it’s likely that the Eagles will either do one of the following:

1. Draft a quarterback in the first round
   
2. Skip a year of making any decisions, sign a free agent veteran backup, and wait until proper evaluation from a brand new coaching staff to take place before making another decision about who’s under center for the Eagles in the future.

At the very least, the Eagles have an extra second-round pick from the Colts. If Wentz stays healthy, they could enter the 2022 draft with two first-round picks. The Eagles are certainly not on a one-year plan to be a contender this year in the NFL. The sooner we can all come to terms with a five-year rebuild of a once promising football team, the better.

As for Carson Wentz, Indianapolis is an ideal fit for him. Wentz will be reunited with a coaching staff that had him playing at an MVP-level in 2017. Although that might be ceiling for Wentz, he will definitely be considerably better than he was in 2020. Wentz will land somewhere between 2017 and 2019 in terms of his performance in Indianapolis.

Philadelphia won’t remember Wentz fondly. I can’t remember any player who left the city of Philadelphia on such a terrible note be appreciated down the road. Even though Wentz was the reason we won a Super Bowl in 2017, the Eagles organization did everything possible, aided by Wentz’s terrible 2020 season, to royally screw up this franchise for the foreseeable future.

Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY