On Thursday afternoon, the Indianapolis Colts traded for now-former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. This trade was just one in a series of trades so far this season involving star QBs. It also reunites Wentz with his former offensive coordinator turned head coach, Frank Reich.
Philadelphia has agreed to trade Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick that could turn into a first, league sources tell @mortreport and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 18, 2021
As soon as the trade was announced, DraftKings Sportsbook quickly moved to shift the Colts’ odds to win the Super Bowl. Acquiring Wentz moved the line from +2500 down to +2200.
The Colts move from +2500 to +2200 to win the Super Bowl. pic.twitter.com/jzFVjH56bt
— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) February 18, 2021
The Colts also moved from +135 to -106 to win the AFC South, and +1200 to +1100 to win the AFC according to BetQL from DraftKings Sportsbook.
How did the Carson Wentz trade impact the futures odds for the Indianapolis Colts over at @DKSportsbook?
Super Bowl: +2500 -> +2200
AFC: +1200 -> +1100
AFC South: -106 (unchanged) pic.twitter.com/CnvxTuBA4C
— BetQL (@betqlapp) February 18, 2021
A Fresh Start
Wentz is looking for new beginnings with Indianapolis following a very tenuous and difficult last few years with the Eagles. After being drafted No. 2 overall in 2016 and having an MVP-like season in 2017, Wentz’s time with Philadelphia has been a roller coaster.
While he did help position the Eagles to win their first-ever Super Bowl in 2017 before going out for the season with a torn ACL in Week 14, Nick Foles ultimately finished up the year by winning the title. Since that year, Wentz has sustained several other injuries that caused him to go out of favor with the franchise.
Wentz will be joining an organization that is now committed to fixing the former star QB. With Reich at the helm, a great offensive line, and an up-and-coming running back like Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis is in a great position to make that a reality. It won’t be easy, but Indy obviously believes they can make Wentz an MVP again.
End of an Era In Philly
With their former franchise QB out the door after they had signed him to a $128 million deal not long ago, the Eagles will be saddled with a heavy salary cap burden in 2021. They will have to pay Wentz $33 million this upcoming season to play for the Colts. Just four seasons after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, the Eagles look to be in rebuild mode once again. It will be very disappointing for their fan base, which had very high hopes of sustained success after winning a Super Bowl with their backup QB over the greatest of all time, Tom Brady. One would figure that Wentz, who would have been the MVP that year, would come back and play at the level he was before the injury to lead them to more titles. Unfortunately, things sometimes never go as planned.
The Eagles will be rolling with former 2nd-round draft pick Jalen Hurts at QB in 2021. Hurts showed promise last season in his rookie campaign after taking over for a benched Wentz late in the year. With holes now all over the roster and injury concerns everywhere, it won’t be easy for the 2nd-year QB to take over and keep the Eagles in contention. New head coach Nick Sirianni will have his hands full restructuring this roster to get Philly back to its winning ways.
With everything that has happened, Philly has moved to massive long shots to win Super Bowl LVI. They currently stand at 50-1 to win the Lombardi in the 2021 NFL season.
