Colts Complete Trade For Wentz

The Indianapolis Colts have completed a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire quarterback Carson Wentz.

There were several teams that were interested in acquiring the former Eagles franchise quarterback, but the Colts were able to come up with the best offer.

Indianapolis will be sending a third-round draft pick in 2021 to the Eagles along with a conditional second-round pick in 2022, but that could eventually turn into a first-round selection. Indianapolis did not have to give up any players in the deal, and the Colts will return a majority of their team from the 2020 season.

Indianapolis was in the market for a new starting quarterback after Philip Rivers announced his retirement from the NFL. Rivers guided the Colts to the playoffs in his first and only season in Indianapolis but decided to step away from the game of football.

This deal will not be made official until the new league year begins on March 17, but there won’t be any changes to the offer. Wentz will take over the starting quarterback job with the Colts in Week 1, assuming he is able to stay healthy.

To make this deal possible, the Eagles have agreed to take a dead-cap hit of $33.8 million. This is the largest dead-cap hit in NFL history, but the team and the quarterback were in need of a change of scenery.

The Colts will pay the remainder of the $128 million contract extension signed by Wentz, and that includes a $10 million salary hit this March. Colts head coach Frank Reich was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles when Wentz had the best season of his career.

Wentz really struggled during the 2020 season, and he ended up getting benched in favor of rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts. The Eagles traded up in the NFL Draft to select Wentz out of North Dakota State, and he appeared to be on his way to an MVP Award in 2018 before suffering a knee injury.

The Colts have been looking for a longtime franchise quarterback since Andrew Luck abruptly walked away from the NFL prior to the 2019 season.

New Number For Wentz

Wentz has been number 11 throughout his NFL career, but he will begin his career with the Colts wearing a different number. This comes after wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. denied a request from Wentz to get the number from the wide receiver.

Players commonly submit a request for their old jersey number when joining a new team, and usually, there is money or a gift that is exchanged to make the trade. Pittman has confirmed to TMZ that a request was made, but he has no plans on switching numbers.

Pittman did state that he respected Wentz making a request for the number, but he intends on keeping his current number with the team. The wide receiver initially began his Colts career wearing number 86 before shifting to number 11.

It’s unclear when Wentz will choose a new jersey number or what number he might choose. His jersey figures to be one of the top sellers in 2021, especially in the state of Indiana.

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