What Happens at QB When Carson Wentz is Traded?

It sure feels like Carson Wentz could be an ex-Eagle as early as next week.

ESPN is reporting that the Eagles are expected to trade Wentz in the coming days, though there is no indication to which team or what the return would be for a broken and disgruntled quarterback.

There was a report out of Indianapolis that the Eagles were looking to get two No. 1 draft picks as part of the haul, but that would seem unlikely, given the question about whether or not Wentz can rebound from a horrific 2020 season.

Whatever it is, it just feels like a matter of time now.

What happens next, if Wentz is actually traded?

Let’s take a look.

Jalen Hurts would become the lone quarterback on the roster, with Nate Sudfeld set to hit free agency.

Maybe the Eagles bring Sudfeld back. Doug Pederson liked him enough to throw him a bone and insert him into a winnable game in the season finale against Washington, so maybe the front office does, too.

Sudfeld may want to explore the marketplace, but honestly, what kind of offers would be waiting for him?

As for Hurts, well, is he the answer?

Do the Eagles just hand him the job based on four starts?

After an eye-opening win over the New Orleans Saints in his first NFL start, Hurts’ game lacked the kind of consistency you want in a quarterback. Now, that doesn’t mean he cannot find it as he develops and developed with the core that is around with another piece or two added this spring, but it’s a concern.

Having QB coach Brian Johnson around, a man Hurts has known since Hurts was 4, will help. Nick Sirianni should help as well after working with three different quarterbacks the last three years, identifying their strengths, and playing to those traits.

Still, it would behoove the Eagles to find a veteran QB who can help Hurts in that development and maybe even win the starting job in what will likely be an open QB battle this summer.

Nick Foles certainly fits that description.

Maybe Josh McCown, too.

The Eagles decided to stray from the shade of the Andy Reid coaching tree when they hired Sirianni and not Eric Bieniemy or Mike Kafka, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t take a sniff at Patrick Mahomes backup, Chad Henne.

Really, it’s just a name game at this point, but the actual point is a veteran presence would be required and maybe one with a shot at actually threatening Hurts’ perceived starting status.

And then there’s the draft.

The Eagles have the sixth pick.

Would they dare use it on a quarterback, bringing in a rookie to compete with last year’s rookie?

Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence is the cream of the QB crop and will go No. 1 to Jacksonville.

Would the Eagles like what’s left from a first-round group that includes Ohio State’s Justin Fields, BYU’s Zach Wilson, and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance?

Lance could be the next Tom Brady and the Eagles aren’t taking him just based on optics alone, since NDS is the school whence Wentz hailed.

Maybe the Eagles try to entice the Dolphins to trade out of No. 3. It’s a new regime in Miami than the one in 2016, when the Eagles swapped spots with them, going from No. 13 to No. 8 by dealing Kiko Alonso and Byron Maxwell on their way up to No. 2 to draft Wentz, but it might be worth a shot if they really feel Fields or Wilson are going to be any good in the NFL.

Or maybe they wait until the second day of the draft, in rounds two or three, to pick a quarterback.

Florida’s Kyle Trask makes the most sense as a day two pick, but there might a team that grabs him late in the first round. Maybe Alabama’s Mac Jones, who has the name of a singer-songwriter, is still slipping.

Soon, it will be time to turn to the what-next page, and right now it’s a chapter that looks like it is written in hieroglyphics at the moment.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of EagleMaven. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.