Should the Vikings have any interest in Carson Wentz?
By Adam Patrick
Could the Minnesota Vikings attempt to acquire Carson Wentz in 2021?
Like many who are from the state of North Dakota, current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz grew up as a fan of the Minnesota Vikings. When the Vikings were going through their magical 2009 season with Brett Favre, Wentz was a 16-year-old kid showcasing his abilities as a high-school football player.
After an impressive college career at North Dakota State, Wentz ended up getting selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He’s been with the Eagles for the last five years and before the 2019 season, he signed a four-year, $128 million extension to continue his career with the franchise.
The veteran quarterback was able to lead Philadelphia to the playoffs last season, but this year has been a different story. The Eagles have struggled throughout the 2020 campaign and most recently, the team decided to bench Wentz in favor of rookie signal-caller Jalen Hurts.
Would the Minnesota Vikings be interested in trading for Carson Wentz?
With his benching, rumors regarding Wentz’s status in Philadelphia for 2021 have already been floating all over the place.
Cutting the veteran passer isn’t an option for the Eagles since the financial penalty would be way too significant due to the team just giving him a large extension. But Philadelphia could potentially find a trade partner for Wentz if they choose to stick with Hurts as their starter heading into next season.
If keeping Hurts in the starting lineup is what the Eagles decide to do for 2021, Wentz reportedly has no desire to remain with the team as a backup, and he would like them to send him elsewhere according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
If Wentz is placed on the trade block during the upcoming offseason, would there be any reason for Minnesota to have interest in making a deal to acquire him?
Kirk Cousins is still under contract with the Vikings until 2023, but there’s no guarantee that he will remain with the team for the entire length of the deal.
With Minnesota currently heading towards another season without a trip to the playoffs, the team will have only qualified for the postseason in just one of the three years with Cousins as their starter. Due to their lack of trips to the playoffs during his tenure with the franchise, the Vikings could potentially be on the hunt for a new starting quarterback in 2021.
If Minnesota is interested in trading for Wentz, they would have to figure out what to do with Cousins first. They wouldn’t be able to do just a straight-up quarterback swap with Philadelphia since they are set with Hurts as their starter.
So Minnesota would likely have to send Cousins to another team first before they can begin any negotiations with the Eagles to acquire Wentz.
Despite just signing that massive extension last summer, Wentz would actually cost the Vikings less money than Cousins. Since Philadelphia has already given Wentz a bunch of money from his extension, his average salary would only be around $25 million per year for any team that acquires him in a trade.
If the Vikings are looking to move on from Cousins during the upcoming offseason, a trade for Wentz is one of the multiple moves they could potentially make.
It would just depend on whether or not Minnesota believes that acquiring the Eagles signal-caller would be a better decision than using an early-round pick on a quarterback prospect during next year’s draft.