Philadelphia Eagles: What’s Carson Wentz’s trade value?

The Philadelphia Eagles need to get something significant for Carson Wentz.

The journey of Carson Wentz in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform is as bizarre as we could have imagined. From trading up in the NFL draft twice to get a guy the fan base immediately fell in love with, to seeing an MVP-caliber season, to a Super Bowl on the sideline and the current downfall, Wentz’s NFL journey has been unique and unorthodox.

With the relationship between Doug Pederson and Wentz  “fractured,” it’s inevitable the Eagles will look to trade Wentz and allow him to get a fresh start elsewhere.

What could the Eagles get for Wentz? That’s something front offices across the league are going to be debating heavily with the hope they can polish the once-promising quarterback.

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What’ve recent quarterbacks gone for in trades? Here’s a brief history of some recent notable quarterback trades and what they could mean for Wentz’s value.

Nick Foles, Kyle Allen, Josh Dobbs, Joe Flacco, Case Keenum, and A.J. McCarron were all acquired for day three draft picks, somewhere between a fourth and seventh-round pick. All of them (at this point) proved to be backup quarterbacks who could start if needed.

A fifth-round pick is the average trade value for a backup quarterback, and a fourth is someone who might start for a bad team.

If there’s a backup quarterback who has really shown potential, such as Tyrod Taylor, then a third-round pick seems to be the value. That’s what Buffalo got from the Cleveland Browns in 2018.

There are also guys who have a history of injuries, such as Wentz, who has been able to win when given a chance. Teddy Bridgewater fits that mold and was worth a third-round pick when the Jets traded him and a six to New Orleans.

Some quarterbacks have just reached their time with a team, even though they are still able to win football games. Alex Smith traded from Kansas City to Washington for a third-round pick and starting corner Kendall Fuller.

Tennessee also made a trade for Ryan Tannehill and a sixth-round pick, giving up a seventh-round pick and a future fourth. Tannehill had a big contract and a history of both success and injuries, much like Wentz.

Even more recently, the Miami Dolphins traded for former first-round pick Josh Rosen one year after the Cardinals took him 10th overall out of UCLA. Miami gave up a fifth-round pick and a future second-round pick, only for Rosen to play six games in one year.

San Francisco gave up a second-round pick for Jimmy Garoppolo, who had only played 17 games for New England and started two of them.

And if you want to go back even further, don’t forget that the Eagles got a first and fourth-round pick from the Vikings for Sam Bradford. At that point, the Vikings were desperate for a quarterback after Bridgewater went down, but still, that sets a high mark for a quarterback trade.

What I’m saying is, there are a lot of examples of quarterback trades in recent years that can help unlock Wentz’s value for both the Eagles and other teams.

Regardless of what you think of him, teams will value Wentz higher than Bridgewater, Smith, Taylor, Tannehill, and (yes), even Foles.

The Rosen and Tannehill trades are perhaps the most comparable examples teams will use. They can argue that Wentz has an injury history and has been inconsistent, much like Tannehill. They could also say he needs to be in the right place with the right people (such as Miami thought with Rosen) and give up a significant amount of draft capital.

Wentz remains better than any of those quarterbacks and will likely be one of the most talented quarterbacks to be traded in recent memory. Again, the value is in the eye of the beholder if you think Wentz can win with the right coach and talent around him.

A quarterback who has a history of starting and winning games with some big question marks should at the very least get you a high second-round pick, if not a late first-round pick. If the Eagles could get a first for Bradford and the Cardinals could swap a second for Rosen, Wentz has to be worth at least that.

Thankfully, the teams who have quarterback questions will have draft capital the Eagles will covet.

The Jets and Jaguars are likely to take a young quarterback with their first-round picks. Detroit and Carolina might be in the quarterback market, but their cap space might be limited.

Indianapolis, who might lose Philip Rivers to retirement, will have a late first-round pick this year. With former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich now the Colts head coach and a ton of cap space to work with, Indianapolis makes all the sense in the world.

I’d expect the Eagles to at least ask for Bradford-esque value in a Wentz deal. Perhaps they budge and move to a second and fifth or have to settle for a mix of conditional picks based on Wentz’s performance.

Philadelphia needs as much value as possible to rebuild this team, especially if they’re going to lose centerpieces of the Super Bowl team like Wentz, Zach Ertz, Jason Kelce, and Jason Peters. There are a lot of holes to fill on this team, and getting value for Wentz is where they start to retool the roster.

With so many teams needing a quarterback, it shouldn’t be too hard for the Philadelphia Eagles to trade someone who has shown as much as Carson Wentz did early in his career for a quality return.