QB Carousel Begins

The 2020 season was unlike any other. Now the 2021 offseason is shaping up to be pretty crazy in its own way. DeShaun Watson wants out of Houston. Matt Stafford wants out of Detroit. There are questions about Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Tua Tagavailoa, Sam Darnold and Big Ben. Philip Rivers and Drew Brees retired. There are seven teams with new coaches. Expect a lot of action.

And that action started on Saturday night.

Detroit is dealing QB Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for two future first-round picks, a third-round pick and QB Jared Goff, per sources. Two former No. 1 overall picks trading places in the first blockbuster NFL trade of 2021.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 31, 2021

Wow. The Rams are a definite Super Bowl contender in 2021. The Lions are rebuilding. Or maybe we should just say building since rebuilding sounds like you were something.

Does this mean anything for Wentz and the Eagles? Not really.

The Rams relationship with Goff became fractured. They embraced backup John Wolford in an odd way, as if they preferred him on the field. You might say this sounds a lot like Wentz and the Eagles, but there are major differences. Goff had a solid season (20 TDs, 13 INTs, 67% comp.). That’s hardly ideal, but it is worlds different than how Wentz played. The Eagles stuck with Wentz as long as they could, despite the fact he was having a nightmare year and the team was a mess.

The coaching staff  that embraced Wolford remained in place. And the GM was saying questionable things to the media.

"Moving on from Jared Goff, the money we've invested, that isn't easy to overcome … (but) anything can be done in a cap-based system." –Rams GM Les Snead, speaking hypothetically when pressed on the possibility of having a new quarterback in 2021

— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) January 26, 2021

Clearly, the Rams were ready to move on. Compare that to the Eagles.

They fired the coaching staff than benched Wentz. Before he was fired, Doug Pederson made sure he said nothing but good things about Wentz to the media. Then we saw these reports.

Garafalo says that the Eagles prefer to keep Wentz, but the new coach will have significant say in that. He also says, until now, Wentz hasn’t requested a trade. https://t.co/Dy3d1gjPEj

— I’m just riffin baby (@GoBirdsGoSixers) January 24, 2021

The Eagles want to keep Wentz. And Wentz hasn’t said he wants out. The relationship between Wentz and Pederson was fractured, but Pederson is gone. The organization hasn’t been an issue, that we know of.

Now there is a new coaching staff, one that has somewhat of a tie to Wentz. Nick Sirianni and his offensive coordinator worked under Frank Reich, who had a great relationship with Wentz. The offensive scheme would be similar to what the Eagles did in 2017, when Wentz played at an MVP level.

At his PC, Sirianni wouldn’t commit to anything with Wentz. Some read this as a bad sign. It was the right thing to do. Sirianni and his staff need to meet with Wentz to discuss things before the team can make any definitive announcement. Sirianni did make sure to praise Wentz.

Eagles new head coach Nick Sirianni: "We have two quarterbacks in Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts that are top notch. A lot of teams don't have any. I'm excited to work with both of them."

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 29, 2021

The Eagles actions tell me the team wants to keep him and they want to fix him. None of that matters unless Wentz buys in.

Sirianni, Shane Steichen and Brian Johnson need to meet with Wentz and have a long discussion on their plans and the future. They need to communicate to Wentz that the past is the past and he’s got a clean slate with them.

They also need to let him know what their plan for him is and the standard he’ll be held to. I think Wentz will buy in to their ideas and coaching style if they are honest and up front about things. Wentz handled tough coaching fine when John DeFilippo was his QB coach. I think things went sideways when he left, but part of that is due to Wentz coming back from a torn ACL and being sensitive because of the presence of Nick Foles.

Wentz is healthy now. He’s older and an experienced player. If the new staff can establish a good rapport with him and get on the same page, this can work.

We don’t know where Wentz’s head is. Does he want to make this work? Does he want to stay with the Eagles?

The Eagles need a clear, decisive answer from Wentz before they can make plans. He must tell Sirianni and the organization that he’s committed to making this work and that he willing to do whatever that takes. If he gives a soft commitment or hedges his answer at all, the Eagles must move on. There can’t be any bargains or casual agreements.

All in or nothing.

*****

According to @MoveTheSticks GM’s are basically biting on the lip about the chance of trading for Carson Wentz. He says there are several teams who would “ be in on that”. Teams know Wentz is talented, and still has a lot of juice left in the tank #Eagles pic.twitter.com/mhgANnXjMa

— AJ Torres (@ajtorres1230) January 29, 2021

There was no market for Goff. There was a big market for Stafford. Wentz would be somewhere between that. Daniel Jeremiah is hearing that some teams would definitely want to go after Wentz if he were available. What they’d be willing to pay might be a different story.

I think the Eagles preference is to keep Wentz and make this work, but if they have to move on, there will be a market. It just won’t be great.

*****

Malcolm Jenkins offered some thoughts on Wentz and the Eagles.

"Something has to change."

-had to ask #Saints S @MalcolmJenkins about what's going on with his former team and the #FlyEaglesFly QB situation:#NFL pic.twitter.com/CGpBvGqfgI

— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) January 29, 2021

He said the coaches didn’t hold Wentz accountable and weren’t hard enough on him. No shock. That’s what we’ve heard.

Whether Wentz stays in Philly or goes elsewhere, he and his new coaching staff need to learn from this. Soft coaching is not the way to go. That’s not how you get better. That’s not how you win.

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