Bears Become Favorites in Odds to Be Carson Wentz’ Next Team If Traded

• Updated odds have been released for which team Carson Wentz will play for in 2021
• The Chicago Bears now hold the best odds at +150, with the previously favored Indianapolis Colts right behind at +160
• Read below for a look at the complete odds and fits with potential trade partners

If Carson Wentz were a free agent this offseason, he would likely be the top quarterback on the market. As it stands, he is still under contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, and it’s going to be their call if he is on a different team in 2021.

The Eagles had reportedly asked for two first round draft picks with complementary assets for him. But following his struggles last season, that hasn’t yielded much of a response. The Indianapolis Colts had been the top contender to make a move for Wentz, but sportsbooks now forecast the Chicago Bears to be his next team. Both franchises bettered their odds to trade for him, but Chicago leap-frogged Indy after coming in at +250 in the last odds update.

Odds to Be Carson Wentz’s Team in 2021

Odds from Feb 9

What it Will Take to Move Carson Wentz

Part of Wentz’s lofty asking price probably has to do with what moving him would mean for the Eagles’ salary cap. Currently, Philadelphia is more than $40 million over. Wentz represents more than 16-percent of the team’s cap space at $34.6 million in 2021. Moving him would also leave the Eagles with more than $59 million in dead money unless something was arranged with a trade partner to alleviate some of that.

3 years ago today… SB 52 @NickFoles to @ZERTZ_86 for the game winning score! #aatbirds #FlyEaglesFly #setthetrends pic.twitter.com/SjKjXVCrKp

— All About The Birds (@AATBirds) February 4, 2021

Wentz will be 29-years-old in 2021 with a base salary of $15.4 million. Of the teams thought to be frontrunners to trade for him, the Bears are one of three that are currently over the salary cap. Although recent chatter has picked out Chicago as the most interested party, the Bears are limited in what they can reasonably offer and do with the rest of their roster after adding Wentz. Chicago has less draft capital than other teams in the mix. And the Eagles would need to bring Nick Foles back to town as part of the deal.

Other Strong Potential Fits

Indianapolis and Washington are obvious choices and deserve to be among the other favorites to make a move for Carson Wentz. The Colts were the early favorites to trade for him at +225 and are nearly $80 million under the cap. Indy holds all of its draft picks for this year and next and has a roster filled with moveable contracts. Last season’s starter, Philip Rivers, retired at the end of the season and Jacoby Brissett is a free agent. The AFC South is a winnable division for the Colts every year, and Wentz would get to start over with a franchise that is pretty responsible with its personnel decisions.

Alex Smith. 2020 Comeback Player of the Year. 🙏🙏 #NFLHonors @WashingtonNFL pic.twitter.com/cKZHm0CYxJ

— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2021

Alex Smith is the only quarterback on Washington’s roster heading into the offseason. But he wouldn’t be overly problematic to cut loose if the team made a move for Wentz. Smith would be a $10 million cap hit, but his base salary is a staggering $18.75 million in 2021. He’s simply not worth that number at this point. While it’s not ideal to trade a quarterback to a divisional rival, the NFC East was up for grabs all season in 2020 because of the general poor play of all its teams.

Who could forget when the Broncos played a practice squad wide receiver at quarterback this season? That is the kind of experience that can make front offices all the more itchy to pull the trigger on a trade. Drew Lock hasn’t proven to be the player that Denver was counting on when he was drafted in 2019 and John Elway is an impatient and aggressive executive when it comes to bringing in quarterbacks. This is one of the few situations in which Philly would have the leverage in negotiations, and the Broncos return great value for bettors at +950.

Weeding Out Unlikely Candidates

Houston Texans QB Dashaun Watson has publicly requested a trade, and has a no-trade clause in his contract. Philadelphia appears a lateral move at best for him, and he would need to sign-off on that move. The Eagles would also need to be the side giving up the most in that transaction. So far they haven’t seemed interested in doing that.

Jimmy Garoppolo talking about him and Bill Belichick still texting to this day. 😢 pic.twitter.com/yAfr3DlbUC

— Kevin Rooney (@Rooney013) January 28, 2020

Dallas has made it clear that it will look to keep Dak Prescott with the team. This, despite the unknowns that come with his recovery from a catastrophic ankle injury. San Francisco and Las Vegas appear to be in the similar situation of passively shopping Jimmy Garoppolo and Derek Carr. But new deals would have to be worked out with both players before Philadelphia could bring either aboard. New England has been widely speculated to target a quarterback with the 15th overall pick in the NFL Draft. But betting on head coach Bill Belichick to favor Wentz over Garoppolo in a trade seems foolhardy.

Trading away assets so early in the game would be an irrational move for what Carolina is trying to establish under new head coach Matt Rhule. Teddy Bridgewater’s contract is much easier to get out from underneath of next offseason, and the Panthers are not a Carson Wentz away from contending at a high level.