Wide-Open NFC May Spur Eagles to Deal for Russell Wilson
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Joe Burrow came up three points short in winning his first Super Bowl in just his second NFL season, with the Los Angeles Rams beating his Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, on Sunday night.
Cincy's QB, though, will be a big winner when it comes to earning a contract extension. It's something the Bengals don't have to worry about quite yet since Burrow still has two years left on his rookie deal with the team holding a fifth-year option, which would surely be picked up.
Already, Kansas City and Buffalo quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have cashed in with contract extensions.
There is no question that the AFC has the up-and-comers at the position.
In addition to those three, the Chargers have Justin Herbert and New England has Mac Jones. There are franchise-hopefuls Zach Wilson with the Jets and Trevor Lawrence with Doug Pederson in Jacksonville.
Obviously, it’s a conference not devoid of question marks, the most recent coming to light on Super Bowl Sunday when ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that Colts QB Carson Wentz will “probably” be traded or released before March 19 when his $15 million base salary becomes guaranteed. Mortensen said Wentz’s future in Indianapolis looks “bleak.”
There are also questions with Tua Tagovailoa in Miami, and will Baker Mayfield stay in Cleveland, Derek Carr in Las Vegas, and/or Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee?
That’s nothing compared to what’s happening in the NFC at one of the sports’ most important positions.
Look no further than the Eagles.
Despite both GM Howie Roseman and coach Nick Sirianni saying that Jalen Hurts will be the quarterback in 2022, that hasn’t stopped anyone from talking about the possibility of the Eagles not trying to land Russell Wilson in a trade.
Jalen Hurts
Ed Kracz/SI.com Eagle Maven
There’s no doubt that the NFC is wide open, and much of that has to do with uncertainty at the QB position.
It’s easy to assume that Wilson would be an upgrade over Hurts and, playing behind a sturdy offensive line in Philadelphia, unlike any he has played behind recently in Seattle, would help him regain the traction of a career that has, for the last year-and-a-half, been subpar.
Wilson is among a group of many 30-somethings in the NFC.
The other quarterback in Super Bowl LVI, the Rams' Matt Stafford, is 33 with one year left on his contract. Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins is the same age.
Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan turns 37 in May.
The NFC will not have Tom Brady, who retired, though the Bucs are said to be holding out hope he could possibly change his mind and Aaron Rodgers could be on his way out of Green Bay, either via a trade or retirement.
The conference also has retreads in former AFC passer Sam Darnold in Carolina and one-time No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff in Detroit.
Justin Fields, drafted in the first round by the Bears, could be QB of the future in Chicago, but who knows?
Who knows is also a good way to put the QB situation in several other NFL cities, including Washington, San Francisco, even though last year’s first-round pick, Trey Lance, might be the answer, and New Orleans.
Kyler Murray is supposed to be the answer in Arizona, but there is some weirdness coming out of the Arizona desert after Murray scrubbed his social media accounts of anything Cardinals-related.
On Super Bowl Sunday, Mortensen said he had been told by sources who described Murray as a “self-centered, immature, finger-pointer” who believes he has been scapegoated for the Cardinals’ destruction down the stretch and blowout loss to the Rams in the opening round of the playoffs.
All things considered, perhaps Hurts, if he puts in the work in the offseason to improve – and knowing him two years now, he is most definitely doing that – can be the quarterback to help the Eagles take the next step in a wide-open NFC.
Or maybe Roseman starts to believe that Wilson gives him his best chance to return to a Super Bowl five years after winning their first one.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation EaglesToday and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
