NFL Rumors: Bears rumored to be including Nick Foles in potential trade package for Carson Wentz

Windy City Gridiron contributor Brandon Robinson caught a lot of attention on Friday when he tweeted that the Chicago Bears have the top trade offer out on Carson Wentz. Robinson expanded further on what he’s been hearing about the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback’s future during a Saturday morning appearance on 670 The Score with Joe Ostrowski.

First, Robinson talked about what the Bears’ offer for Wentz looks like.

OSTROWSKI: Do the Bears still have the top offer for Carson Wentz?

ROBINSON: Not from my source. The last time I spoke with my source is when I tweeted that [original report]. But from what I’ve heard from other people who I trust, they still have the top offer. And I just don’t think that’s changing at all.

OSTROWSKI: After your report, the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, there were subsequent reports, just a lot of different stuff was thrown out there about said offer. What is the Bears’ offer for Wentz?

ROBINSON: So, from what I understood, they had — originally, they had a second and a couple of other picks attached to it. But that was before the Colts came over the top and offered even more. I’m not exactly sure what they offered, but I assume that it was two twos. So, I’m assuming that the Bears are probably offering right now, No. 20 [in the 2021 NFL Draft] and future picks, which is probably a third-round pick in 2022.

OSTROWSKI: You think the first-round pick would be the only one from the 2021 draft? Is that your guess?

ROBINSON: If they added in another pick, it would probably be like a fifth- or sixth-round pick. It wouldn’t be anything substantial.

Later, he mentioned that Eagles Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles could be involved in the deal.

OSTROWSKI: […] I’ll say this, what they did a year ago with Foles? Certainly not this route. So at least they’re changing the process a little bit. With Foles it looked like, ‘Let’s just get an average quarterback and we’ll be okay because we have an elite defense.’ Like you said, low floor, but a high ceiling still for Wentz.

ROBINSON: From what I understand is, the [Bears are] trying to get Foles out of [Chicago] with this deal. […] And that probably has to do more with Wentz and basically how he’s a diva than it has to do with the cap. […] With the perception I have heard from Wentz, there’s no way that [Foles being on the team] could possibly happen.

Robinson also got into the Bears’ motivation for making the trade.

OSTROWSKI: There were a lot of reports near the tail end of the season about Wentz and Pederson. And then they fire Pederson and then they bring in a Frank Reich guy, so you can kind of connect the dots and say ‘OK, they’re going to try to make this work with Wentz.’ What do you know about Wentz’s personality and what he’s like to deal with? Because Doug Pederson does not seem like a very tough guy to get along with. He kind of goes with the flow and he was sick of listening to his bosses by the tail end there.

ROBINSON: Right. So, what I found out recently is that apparently not everyone is aware of how Wentz is acting, and they still think that he’s this guy from North Dakota that’s even-keeled and all of this. But when actually he’s the exact opposite. He’s a complete diva in that locker room who’s completely uncoachable under that staff and wants nothing to do in that organization. And if he was anybody else, like, say, Lamar Jackson, or Russell Wilson, or Cam Newton — you see where I’m going with this? He would be getting criticized over and over again.

OSTROWSKI: I don’t think the viewing public has any idea. I think they see him on the field, and he was terrible in 2020, and he may seem like a bit of a crybaby at times on the sideline or during games. But yeah, I don’t think people think that. Okay, so why do the Bears want him?

ROBINSON: The Bears want him … it’s because the organization still believes — and I know this for a fact — that he still has generational talent. And the fact that he has generational talent and they have a quarterback coach who worked with Wentz, had a great relationship with Wentz, unlike the reports that were out there, and his best years were under John DeFilippo, they think they can have some resurgence in his career. Because, really, he had an awful year. But when you consider how much distaste he had for the coaching staff and him literally doing his own thing on the field, calling his own plays and calling his own shots, anybody that knows anything about football and how it works, you would expect him to play bad. So they think if they can get everything right with him, and move forward with the situation, they can get his career back on track.

A lot to unpack here, so let’s get to some thoughts in bullet-point form:

• Doesn’t sound like the Eagles will be getting multiple first-round picks for Wentz. But it seems like at least one is in play. How do you feel about No. 20, a 2022 third-round pick, and Foles for Wentz?

• Not transcribed here but Robinson and Ostrowski talked about Bears ownership mandating Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace to win now. They’re really desperate. It would make sense, then, that they’d be the team to give up the most for a risky bet like Wentz.
• Pace hasn’t exactly been the best quarterback evaluator! Significant investments in Mike Glennon, Mitchell Trubisky, and Foles. What does it say about Wentz that he’s seemingly the next apple of Pace’s eye?
• Foles back in Philly?! I can see it happening from the standpoint that the Eagles would view it as making the Wentz trade more sellable to fans. ‘Who wouldn’t be happy about seeing our Super Bowl hero come home?’
• Definitely can’t see the Bears having both Wentz and Foles on their roster. The two quarterbacks have a great personal relationship but the professional dynamic just doesn’t seem tenable for Wentz, who would once again have to worry about Foles potentially replacing him.
• I think the Eagles trading for Foles both does and doesn’t make sense.
• On one hand, Foles is probably willing to restructure his contract to make it easier for the Eagles to take him back. He obviously loves Philly. Foles has the right temperament to be a backup. And maybe he could even be a good long-term starter for the Eagles since he inexplicably plays much better here than everywhere else.
• On the other hand, the Eagles have talked about how they need to get younger and away from nostalgia. Bringing back Foles goes against that messaging. The presence of Foles seems like a potential distraction for whichever young starter (Jalen Hurts or a pick high in the 2021 NFL Draft) the Eagles are moving forward with. And Foles’ long-term starter viability is in serious doubt after we’ve seen him get outplayed by Gardner Minshew and Mitchell Trubisky in consecutive seasons.
• Maybe this is all moot and a different team ends up being the one to make the strongest offer. With word that a Wentz deal is “close” to happening, I suppose we’ll see as soon as this week.