How is it the Commanders were so convinced that Carson Wentz was worth the trade with the Colts last March?
Joe Banner of The 33rd Team and former Eagles president and Browns Chief Officer was asked about the Wentz trade Wednesday by Al Galdi on the “Al Galdi Podcast.”
Galdi inquired, “Am I correct in assuming you are not stunned that the Commanders’ trade for Carson Wentz did not work out?”
“At some point, you just have to believe what all the information is telling you. I just don’t know how in this particular situation (pauses). ”
“I mean, listen, let’s be honest. The Eagles are a smart team. They have done very well for a long time. They have had some ups and downs, but they have done well for a very long time.”
“They decided they would rather take a $35 million cap hit than even have him (Wentz) on their team. Now, this is a smart team that knows him very well. And by the way, they replaced him with somebody that was a total projection. It is not like the situation in Chicago, where if the Bears decide to replace (Justin) Fields, they would do it with the first selection in the entire draft.”
“The Eagles replaced Wentz with someone who maybe could be a good starter. He was a backup, and it at least made some sense. It seems he proved to exceed where he was drafted.”
“Then Wentz went to Indianapolis. For me, Chris Ballard is one of the top three to five smartest general managers in the business. So he had decided he was willing to take a $28 million cap hit than to have Carson on his team.”
“So, I don’t know what else you need. Hey, if you are not convinced by those two people who are smart, if you need any more information, just turn on the tape. The tape tells you very clearly why they (Eagles and Colts) came to that conclusion.”
“That is what I think happened with Wentz. All of the evidence was there, but for some reason, they (Commanders) looked at it and decided Path A made sense when the rest of us could see Path B is what really made sense.”
The Commanders gave up their overall 42nd pick, the 73rd pick in the 2022 draft and a conditional third-rounder (2023). The Commanders also agreed to pay all of Wentz’s 2022 season salary of $28 million.
In exchange, the Commanders received Wentz, the 47th overall and 240 overall choice. Those two choices became Phidarian Mathis and Christian Holmes, respectively.
