By Spencer Schumacher
Contributing Writer
After a turbulent 2020 season and the hiring of the new coach Nick Sirianni, the Philadelphia Eagles now focus on rehabbing their roster that is filled with aging veterans and underperforming youth.The team has traded Carson Wentz, released Desean Jackson and have made other changes to their roster.
On Feb. 18, the team sent Wentz to the Colts, getting a third-round pick in 2021 and a conditional second-round pick, which could become a first, in 2022, in return for the quarterback. Wentz must play either 75% of snaps or must play 70% of snaps and the Colts must make the playoffs for the Eagles to receive the first-round pick, according to espn.com.
This trade was a result of Wentz’s poor performance paired with his own desire to get a “fresh start” after feeling “betrayed” by the organization’s decision to draft Jalen Hurts as the 53rd pick in the 2020 draft.
Stated on ESPN, this trade leaves the Eagles to handle a roughly 35-million dollar dead cap hit for the upcoming season. They still sit roughly 50-million over next year’s cap as of now. “Dead money is the salary cap space a team must allocate to a particular player who has been cut,” according to Bleacher Report.
According to NBC Sports Philly, following the Wentz trade, the team released Jackson after several injuries and a reunion that fell short of what many fans and the franchise had expected.
Alshon Jeffery and Malik Jackson will also be released, among numerous others. Some will be traded, and many will not be re-signed.
Zach Ertz, now finds himself on the trade block. “For a guy who spoke publicly a month ago about wanting a contract extension, Zach Ertz certainly hasn’t played like a guy who deserves one,” stated nbcsports.com. “He has been targeted 11 times and had 5 catches for 15 yards.”
This leaves Nick Sirianni and company to set a new identity for the franchise, after separating itself almost completely from the members of its Super Bowl LII champion team.