How Colts' reported trade for Carson Wentz impacts Patriots originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Carson Wentz is on the move, and it isn't to New England.
The Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to trade Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts in return for a 2021 third-round draft pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick that could turn into a first-rounder, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen reported Thursday.
Per Schefter, that 2022 second-round pick will become a first-rounder for Philly if Wentz plays at least 75% of the Colts' snaps next season, or if he plays 70% of the Colts' snaps and they make the playoffs.
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Wentz is another option off the board for the Patriots, who are in search of a starting quarterback after going 7-9 last season with pending free agent Cam Newton. So, what does the 28-year-old's move to Indy mean for New England?
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For starters, the Patriots will play the Colts on the road in 2021, so they'll get a first-hand look at whether Indy made a wise investment.
Wentz's return also may impact the price tags that other teams put on their tradeable QBs. If Wentz hits that playing time threshold, a first-rounder and a third-rounder is a decent haul for a quarterback who threw 16 touchdown passes to 15 interceptions last season.
Would the San Francisco 49ers want more than that -- perhaps an unconditional first-round pick -- to part with Jimmy Garoppolo? Probably. The same goes for Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr, who also put up better numbers than Wentz last season and is just one year older.
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The Patriots could pursue their next QB via the 2021 NFL Draft, as well. But as our Patriots Insider Phil Perry points out, they may have a bit more competition after the Wentz trade.
The Eagles own the No. 6 pick, and if they take a QB to compete with Jalen Hurts, it's possible that five signal-callers could be off the board by the time New England picks at No. 15.
There's still plenty of offseason left for the Patriots to figure out their QB situation, though. And if they want to go the free-agent route, perhaps they'll give old friend Jacoby Brissett a call: The former Colts backup may not be interested in re-signing with Indy with Wentz now on board.
