Report: ‘Nothing imminent’ regarding a Carson Wentz trade, but Bears have inquired

The Carson Wentz rumor mill churned nonstop over the weekend.

Unsubstantiated reports bounced around the internet indicating an Eagles-Bears trade might be imminent. The rumors were loud enough to compel Bears running back Tarik Cohen to give his coach and general manager a call – just to make sure he still was a member of the team.

“Lemme clear this up real quick,” Cohen tweeted Saturday night. “Just got off the phone wit my HC and GM, bears fans we locked in.”

The Philadelphia Eagles reportedly are listening to trade offers for Wentz, the No. 2-overall draft pick in the 2016 draft. The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted Thursday that, “while Philly doesn’t plan to deal him, they haven’t hung up the phone, either.”

Now, the day after Super Bowl LV, another NFL Network report indicates that discussions are ongoing, but “nothing is imminent,” according to NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo.

“The Eagles are basically waiting for an offer that they think is worthwhile to trade away Carson Wentz,” Garafolo reported Monday.

Garafolo said that the Bears and the Indianapolis Colts have called regarding Wentz, as well as “more teams.” He noted that the Bears and Colts also are keeping their eyes on other quarterbacks across the league.

Garafolo said that there is “a lot of poker being played.”

The Bears, of course, are one of many teams in need of a quarterback. It’s worth noting that current Bears quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo worked with Wentz in the same role for the Eagles in 2016 and 2017. The Colts have a connection of their own in head coach Frank Reich, who was the Eagles offensive coordinator in 2016 and 2017.

Wentz is under contract through 2024. If the Eagles trade Wentz prior to June 1, they will be on the hook for his $33.8 million cap hit in 2021, according to Spotrac. Whoever trades for Wentz would then have to deal with a cap hit of more than $30 million each of the next three seasons in 2022, 2023 and 2024, unless the contract were extended and restructured.

The NFL’s offseason quarterback market already is wild. The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams swapped former No. 1-overall picks Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford a week ago. The Bears reportedly were interested in Stafford.

Wentz has played for the Eagles for five seasons. That included a sophomore campaign in 2017 when he led the Eagles to an 11-2 record in 13 starts, throwing for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Wentz tore his ACL in a Week 14 game against the Los Angeles Rams in 2017, cutting short his only Pro Bowl season. Current Bears quarterback Nick Foles took over the starting job for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs, guiding the Eagles to a victory in Super Bowl LII against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Wentz finished third in MVP voting that season.

Wentz never has quite reached that same level of success since. He again missed five games in 2018 because of injury, including the playoffs. Even so, he signed a four-year contract extension with the Eagles the following offseason.

In 2019, Wentz started all 16 games, throwing for 4,039 yards and 27 touchdowns with seven interceptions. The Eagles struggled to a 9-7 finish and made a quick exit from the playoffs after Wentz suffered a head injury early in a Wild Card game against Seattle.

For Philadelphia and for Wentz, the 2020 season was a disaster. Coach Doug Pederson benched Wentz after 12 starts in favor of Jalen Hurts. The Eagles finished the season 4-11-1 and the team fired Pederson, the only Super Bowl-winning coach in team history. Wentz had the worst season of his career: completing 57.4% of his passes for 2,620 yards, 16 touchdowns and an NFL-leading 15 interceptions. He also fumbled 10 times.

The Bears likely are to leave no stone unturned in their search for a quarterback. They might be ready to move on from Mitch Trubisky, who is set to become a free agent in March.