Eagles, Colts Still Discussing Carson Wentz

The Bears may have a slight lead in the Carson Wentz pursuit, which could be a two-horse race. But the Colts are not bowing out of this process. They continue to engage in dialogue with the Eagles on a trade for the disgruntled quarterback, Zak Keefer of The Athletic tweets.

Wentz is believed to prefer the Colts as a destination, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). But the Bears have Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace on hot seats going into their fourth year together. That may bring out a better offer compared to what the Colts are proposing.

The Colts, however, are not budging on their offer, with Keefer adding the Indy-Philly talks have not included a major compensation upgrade. It is not believed a first-round pick has yet emerged in a Wentz proposal.

Three ex-Eagles coaches on their offensive staff — Frank Reich, Mike Groh, Press Taylor — reside on the Colts’ staff, while the Bears have former Wentz position coach John DeFilippo in place as their quarterbacks coach. Chicago also recently promoted DeFilippo to passing-game coordinator.

Wentz has $47MM guaranteed going to him over the next two seasons, but the Eagles extending him at $32MM per year through the 2024 season, the quarterback would not carry a cap figure north of $27MM after he’s traded.

The Eagles were seeking a Matthew Stafford-type trade haul for Wentz, who has shown immense promise but is coming off his worst season. With these talks dragging on, it is clear Philly has not received such an offer for the former No. 2 overall pick. The Broncos and Patriots are not believed to be interested in Wentz, with SI.com’s Albert Breer noting the Stafford-type haul request prompted multiple teams to withdraw from this pursuit from the start. But the Colts and Bears appear to still be in it. One of them could have a new starting quarterback soon.

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