This isn't what either side intended for the relationship. The Philadelphia Eagles have invested a metric ton in the drafting and continued development of Carson Wentz, giving up several premium picks to select him second-overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, and then awarding him a four-year, $127 million contract extension in 2019 that included a then record-setting $107 million guaranteed -- two long-term commitments that are being shattered by recent events. With the selection of Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 draft and the subsequent benching of Wentz for the rookie, a maelstrom of speculation regarding the future of the former is now dominating headlines.
The Eagles have allegedly made it clear they plan to retain Wentz and attempt to reinsert him as starter in 2021, apparently despite what happens to end the 2020 season with Hurts, but the former first-round pick isn't so sure the team will guarantee he'll be QB1 again. If they don't, he's reportedly looking to exit Philadelphia, per Adam Schefter of ESPN, as opposed to potentially playing backup to Hurts when next season gets underway.
This news undercuts any closed door conversations the Eagles might have with potential suitors for Wentz in the near future, and that's bad news in and of itself, considering a trade is quite frankly the only way they can divorce him and survive financially.
If they cut him loose (be it as a pre- or post--June 1 release), they'd still owe him a $10 million roster bonus and $15.4 million in base salary for 2021 -- per OverTheCap. If it's a pre-June 1 firing, his total dead money hit for next year launching to $59.22 million. If they designate him a post-June 1 release, to take a swing at lessening the salary cap impact as much as possible, the dead money hit would lessen to $34.67 million.
A trade, however, would garner the Eagles a load of cap savings that increases to the aforementioned $25.4 million offloaded to the new team if it happens post-June 1, but that would involve convincing a team to give up an asset or two for the right to take on a massive contract and subsequent cap hit, which inherently means that team would have to believe Wentz could be their franchise quarterback -- for a very long time to come. And if the news of Wentz seeking the exit is true, the potential suitor will likely use this as leverage to lower the asking price in a situation wherein the Eagles are already pressed against the wall, particularly if Hurts finishes the 2020 season on a continued high note.
That said, if the Eagles truly do intend to keep Wentz around, there's nothing he can do about it.
He's under contract through 2024 and, as such, has only minuscule leverage of his own -- a point that becomes more poignant when factoring in his boatload of poor QB play. His biggest and only play is to point at what the Eagles would have to pay him if he's still on the roster when the third day of the new league year arrives, because they'll have to fully guarantee his $22 million base salary and pay him a 2021 roster bonus of $10 million.
There is much to figure out in Philadelphia, and not much time to do it.
