Can Carson Wentz’s stats improve under the Colts? See the trade details
This offseason is going the be the biggest quarterback carousel in years. The first domino already fell with the Detroit Lions trading Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff and a plethora of draft picks. Many notable quarterbacks, including Houston Texans Deshaun Watson, New York Jets Sam Darnold, and Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers.
The newest trade on the table is the Philadelphia Eagles moving quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz massively regressed last season, going from an MVP caliber performance in 2017, making it to the bench multiple times throughout the 2020 season.
Can Wentz get his stats back to what he showed in 2017 when the Eagles won the Super Bowl? Let’s look.
The trade
The Philadelphia Eagles traded Carson Wentz to Indianapolis Colts for a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 conditional second-round pick. There is a chance the second-round pick turns into a first-round pick if Wentz plays 75 percent of the snaps or 70 percent and the team makes the playoffs.
The evaluation is based on his stats last season, injury history, and current contract. The Colts agreed to take on $98.4 million of Wentz’s massive $128 million contract. The Eagles will take on $33 million in dead money.
The Colts didn’t give up a lot to get Wentz because of how much they will be spending on him for the next four years. According to Over the Cap, the Colts are second-best in the league in terms of cap space. They’re currently $68.3 million under the cap.
Stats last season to 2017 season
Carson Wentz in 2017 led the Philadelphia Eagles to the franchise’s first Super Bowl win. However, an ACL injury cut Wentz’s season short. Despite his performance since 2017, there wasn’t an NFL analyst not calling him the MVP. In 2017, Wentz threw for nearly 3,300 yards, thirty-three touchdowns, and a 101.9 passer rating.
Despite the Eagles floundering the following two seasons, Wentz was still performing very well. In 2018, he threw for a career-best 279.5 yards per game and a 102.2 passer rating. 2019 was his closest to his 2017 season throwing for a career-high 4,039 yards and second-best twenty-seven touchdowns.
In 2020, injuries riddled the Eagles, and Wentz was doing too much to put the team on his back. Wentz threw a league-high fifteen interceptions and sacked fifty times this season while only managing sixteen touchdowns and 2,620 yards.
Can he return to 2021?
Everyone around the league is wondering if a change of scenery will turn Wentz’s career around. Wentz probably has the same cast around him talent-wise except for one person. Wentz will be reuniting with Philadelphia’s former offensive coordinator Frank Reich now Indianapolis Colts Head Coach.
Reich’s last season in Philadelphia was 2017. He helped manage Wentz to those career-best stats and is looking to bring in the final piece of the puzzle for the Colts. The Colts are reemerging as competitors in the AFC South, and Wentz, under Reich’s tutelage, might get the Colts over the hump.
Reich wouldn’t have fought to bring Wentz to Indianapolis if he didn’t believe he could get him back to an MVP caliber quarterback. Reich’s system worked well for Wentz’s capabilities, and getting him back into a familiar system he likes should do wonders for his career.
