The teams of the NFC East continue their apocalyptic level of destruction.
The Philadelphia Eagles were able to offload QB Carson Wentz to the Colts.
Unfortunately, they are taking a $33.8M dead cap hit.
The cap was reduced for the first time in NFL history to $182.5M.
That means a QB that no longer plays for the Eagles is soaking up roughly 18% of their cap space in 2021.
If you need to laugh today:
The Cowboys are paying Dak Prescott $22.5 million to play for them in 2021.
The Eagles are paying Carson Wentz $34M to play for someone else in 2021. pic.twitter.com/hQ6eowrkrv
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) March 10, 2021
The Eagles managed to get under the cap ceiling, but they still have major personnel issues.
This is now a team in full rebuild mode whether the fans want to admit it or not.
The first part of a rebuild is to get rid of all the unhappy players and the ones soaking up money.
Luckily, they can accomplish both by trading Zach Ertz.
Zach Ertz has gotten permission from the Eagles to seek a trade, per @RapSheet pic.twitter.com/aagkqNqu3w
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 16, 2021
Trading Ertz would free up $4.75M in cap space and get rid of someone who does not want to be there.
That might not seem like a large number, but they are barely under the cap and need some flexibility.
Now that the Eagles have given permission to Ertz to seek a trade, we get to speculate.
1: Indianapolis Colts
It makes all the sense in the world to get this trade done.
Ertz will reunite with his old QB in Wentz and coach, Frank Reich.
When he was with both Wentz and Reich he was only one of the best TEs in the league.
Only two TEs in the #NFL have 300+ receptions, 3,000+ yards, and 20+ TDs since 2017.
Travis Kelce
Zach Ertz#Chiefs #Eagles pic.twitter.com/tRwxjcpMW3— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) March 14, 2021
The Colts have over $41M in cap space and 4 active TEs on their roster.
They can send TE Trey Burton or Jack Doyle to Philadelphia as part of the trade and welcome in the All-Pro.
The Colts can clean up their over-stuffed TE room and clear up cap space at the same time.
I am not sure what the hold-up is, but the Colts need to be on the phone with the Eagles right now.
2: Seattle Seahawks
Everyone is well aware of the rift between Russell Wilson and the Seahawks.
Wilson wants receivers, protection, and a say in play calling.
He was able to be a part of the offensive coordinator search, but not much since then.
The free agency market has been on fire the past three days, but the Seahawks have been stagnant.
Offensive linemen are available, top-tier WRs sit without contracts and the best the Seahawks can do is CB Ahkello Witherspoon.
Maybe they are doing this on purpose, but with $17M in cap space, they can easily make a trade for Ertz.
It will finally give Wilson a threat over the middle of the field other than Will Dissly and Jacob Hollister.
Zach Ertz stats since 2016 (Rank among TE)
356 rec (2nd)
3,719 rec yds (2nd)
26 rec TD (2nd) pic.twitter.com/SHFJH3RHv2— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) September 10, 2020
The Seahawks have never had production out of the TE position.
Adding an All-Pro TE like Ertz to Wilson’s arsenal might please him enough to stick around for another year.
3: Buffalo Bills
If Ertz is searching for another ring the Bills might be his best chance and he knows it.
Zach Ertz trying to get Bill's attention. pic.twitter.com/rGEZGGbolq
— Andy Holloway (@andyholloway) March 16, 2021
The Bills have been trying to clear up as much cap space as possible.
They released WR John Brown and signing WR Emmanuel Sanders which saved them about $1.5M in cap space.
Then they traded TE Lee Smith to the Falcons to save another $2.1M.
Right now, they sit with a little over $9M in cap space and need a stud like Ertz to get past the Chiefs.
If one thing has been missing from the offense, it’s a Kelce-like security blanket for Josh Allen.
Every year the Bills have made it one step closer to the Super Bowl.
With the addition of Ertz, they might be able to finally make it back to the big game.
By the laws of Twitter, Zach Ertz liking this tweet means he may be #Bills-bound. (h/t @DWest2150) pic.twitter.com/YQNtmuSgcQ
— Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) March 17, 2021
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