The Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to trade quarterback Carson Wentz at the Indianapolis Colts for a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 second-round conditional pick that could become a first-round pick, they said. stated for ESPN NFL sources.
The Eagles will receive the 85th general election in this year’s draft, and the conditional secondary round could become a choice in the first round depending on Wentz’s playing time, according to sources.
Wentz must play at least 75% of the Colts’ offensive games for the 2022 conditional election to advance to the first round, according to sources.
The choice could also become a first round if Wentz plays at least 70% of the games and the Colts make the playoffs. But the worst pick of 2022 is a second round, which means the eagles will definitely get two valuable picks for Wentz.
The Eagles and Colts have spent much of the past two weeks trying to complete the transaction, which cannot be officially processed until the new NFL year begins on March 17.
The Eagles will receive unlimited $ 33.8 million in revenue, the highest any team has ever received from a player, while the Colts will take on the balance of Wentz’s $ 128 million extension, including the guaranteed bonus. of $ 10 million payable.
Each team ends the deal with what they wanted on all fronts: Wentz will meet with Colts head coach Frank Reich, their former Philadelphia offensive coordinator, and help fill the gap left by Philip Rivers’ retirement in time. what the Eagles will likely return to Jalen Hurts, although he intends to compete for him as well. The Eagles’ initial job is not expected to reach Hurts automatically.
Trading with Wentz marks the end of a chapter and an unexpected year with the Eagles. Wentz went from former MVP candidate to approving Hurts, a rookie selected in the second round in 2020, while his relationship with former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson disintegrated.
Wentz wanted to leave Philadelphia, even though the Eagles hired former Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni as their new head coach.
Thursday’s successful transaction also continues an already tumultuous off-season for defenders.
Less than three weeks after the Rams traded Jared Goff, who was the first general pick in the 2016 draft at the Lions to fellow quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Eagles have now changed the second overall pick in the same draft as the Colts.
The Eagles signed Wentz for a four-year extension of $ 128 million in June 2019, indicating their belief that he was the long-term answer as a defender.
But the relationship worsened during a difficult 2020 season, in which Wentz ranked 34th in the NFL in percentage of finishes (57.4%) and first in interceptions (15) and sacks (50), despite the fact that that he was sent to. Games.
Wentz, 28, appeared to be on a star-studded trajectory in Philadelphia after dropping 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions in 2017, while delivering a heavy task for the MVP before and ruptures several ligaments in the knee in December. He developed a stress fracture in his back the following season, but managed to throw 48 touchdowns to 14 interceptions in the next two years.
But the gap widened between Wentz and Pederson; A source told ESPN’s Tim McManus that Pederson took much of Wentz’s control over the crime, as injuries and losses increased in 2020, and Wentz’s faith in Pederson’s system was lost.
Pederson was fired last month after a 4-11-1 season after he and owner Jeffrey Lurie failed to agree on a common vision for the future. But Sirianni’s hiring did not change Wentz’s view of his desire to move out of Philadelphia, a sign that there were trust issues that stretched beyond Pederson.
The Eagles traded twice in the project to select Wentz from North Dakota, and Wentz validated that decision from the beginning. He holds the franchise record for one season in completions (388), completion percentage (69.6), passing yards (4,039) and TD through passes (33).
Wentz is also one of only six defenders in NFL history to record more than 20 touchdowns and 10 or fewer interceptions in three consecutive seasons, joining Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. He was named All Pro on the first team and made his only Pro Bowl appearance in 2017.
ESPN’s Tim McManus contributed to this report.