First-Round Pick from Colts Unlikely with Carson Wentz Surgery Looming
The Eagles' potential of three first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft took a major detour Monday when the Indianapolis Colts confirmed that quarterback Carson Wentz will have surgery after injuring his foot at training camp last week.
The decision wasn't an easy one and Wentz reportedly wanted to rest the foot and then try to play through things while the team preferred "the most predictable outcome," which was surgery.
A rehab timeline with a great latitude of five to 12 weeks was unveiled as far as a potential return, and the latter number would drastically impact the terms of the trade, in which Philadelphia sent Wentz to Indy for a conditional 2022 second-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick back in March.
Per the conditions of the deal, the 2022 second-round pick would be bumped up into a first-rounder if Wentz played 75 percent of the Colts' snaps this season or 70 percent with Indianapolis making the playoffs.
At 12 weeks from surgery, you would be talking early November, a scenario that would essentially wipe out any chance of the Eagles' getting a first-round selection.
Of course, the five-week timeframe would still keep Wentz on track to meet the play-time requirement, but who knows what could possibly befall the injury-riddled quarterback next?
Furthermore, if Wentz misses significant time and the Colts' season begins to unravel, it's very likely GM Chris Ballard will monitor the snap counts to make sure the Colts keep their first-round pick next April.
The silver lining here is that if the Colts do falter, the second-round pick would be closer to the top of the round.
Wentz also suffered a number of injuries throughout his career with the Eagles, most notably the torn ACL and LCL that cut short his MVP-like 2017 season.
From there came a stress fracture in his back then a concussion against Seattle in the playoffs after the 2019 season, a situation that Wentz went on to describe as scary.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
