The Carson Wentz Trade (Pt. 1 Initial Reactions)

WTF???!!!!

"F***ing stupid. They were going to cut him."

   This was one of my first comments to my wife when she texted me that Wentz had been traded to Washington. My problem was never with Wentz as a player. Matter of fact, I had mentioned once or twice that he was a viable (and probably better) option if/when the Colts released him than most of the available free agents at the time and/or trading for the often injured Jimmy Garoppolo. I do have some concerns about Wentz (injury history, why is he now on his 3rd team if he is a true franchise QB?) but my primary issues were more about compensation than anything else. 

   Overall, the trade in picks isn't that big of a deal to me. Washington on a whole has struggled on day two picks. For every Terry McLaurin and possibly Sam Cosmi, they've drafted a Geron Christian or Su's Cravens (go back and look at Washington's 2nd round picks over the last 10 years it ranges from horrible to average players). So 2 thirds (with the 2023 pick likely to become a 2nd round selection*) for a legitimate starting quarterback is well worth the risk. I don't (and still don't) like the cap hit that the team imposed upon itself by taking Wentz's full contract without trying to get the Colts to pay for some of Wentz's 2022 contract year. The remainder of the contract has no guaranteed monies, so if the team thinks it's not working, they can release him with no further cap hits. If Wentz does prove to be an improvement from previous years, or for that matter a success, then the team has him under contract for two seasons at a reasonable cost for a franchise QB. I know many fans think the cap is just a game of Monopoly money but you do have to keep under the cap and the ramifications for Wentz many be more apparent as the years go by. I'll discuss this more in part 2 of the Carson Wentz trade. This still brings up questions about why the team pulled the trigger instead of possibly waiting it out and/or getting an even better deal if that was likely.

   One suggestion is that the team wanted to make certain that they could get Wentz in DC. Call it being aggressive or call it desperation but the Burgundy & Gold needs to start winning now. Ron Rivera saw the situation and knew that the bar of talent was starting to significantly drop after the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to Denver. There was no way he could enter the 2022 season with a Trubisky or Mariota and to draft a 2022 QB and hope for the best. The 2022 draft class is pretty weak when it comes to quarterbacks. Even the best of the bunch, Malik Willis, is likely to require a year to sit and develop before he is ready to make his NFL debut. Rivera is 14-19 into his two year tenure and knows that year three he needs to show that his plan is working. There was no guarantee that had Wentz been cut, he would've signed with Washington. Thus, Rivera made the move even though it may have not been the most ideal trade for Washington.

   Another reason is that there have been rumors swirling that their were other suitors for Wentz's services. The emphasis needs to be on the word rumors. There have been no official reports that another team made the Colts an offer to trade for Wentz. This is unlike with the Russell Wilson trade, where we did learn that Washington had made an offer to trade for the Seahawks QB (in fact Washington supposedly offered more for Wilson than Denver). The Colts probably did have some calls from other teams inquiring about Wentz as the team had made it clear he was available for trade or that they would eventually cut him in the near future if he was not traded. So did Washington more or less bid against themselves to acquire Wentz? That would be such a Dan Snyder thing to do.

   This is only part 1 of my take on the Carson Wentz trade. This post was my initial reaction to the trade (generally negative) and my reasoning on why (cap hit, some player concerns). Now that the trade is official and there's no backing out, the rest of this series will take a look at the following: draft and cap values, Scott Turner's scheme, Carson Wentz the player/the person and my final thoughts.

Draft and Cap Values: Part 2 will look at the trade value of Carson Wentz in 2022 versus just a year ago when the Colts traded for Wentz from the Eagles. I'll even go back further to and analyze the trades made by the Eagles to obtain Wentz in the 2017 draft. I'll then go an explore Wentz's cap numbers for 2022-2024. We'll see how Wentz's numbers compare to other quarterbacks in the league and if he's overpriced or of significant value to Washington.

Scott Turner's Scheme: Part 3 will look at Scott Turner, offensive coordinator. What is his scheme? What does Scott really want to do with the Washington offense. Has that scheme been badly hindered by the quarterbacks he's had on the roster? What can Carson Wentz provide to Scott to make his scheme work and be successful?

Carson Wentz, the player/person: What makes up Carson Wentz? Who is he and what has made him both succeed and struggle in the NFL? In part 4, I'll look at what I've heard from various media outlets and interviews and figure out what ended Wentz in both Philly and Indy. Can Wentz rebound? Is Washington the right fit for him despite all the drama that comes out in DC?

Final Thoughts: Part 5 will be my final breakdown on the trade. Do I now like it? Am I okay with it? Is this a typical screw up that you expect based off of history with the Washington front offices over the years? Does it at least make sense? Can Wentz actually help this team win? All will be answered here.

   If you have made it this far, thank you for reading this post. I hope to have part 2 out much sooner than part 1. I just had a hard time writing this introduction. There will be other stuff coming out as well in between the Wentz articles as we have gotten closer to the draft and I am way behind my draft film work.