Howie Roseman deserves credit (but minimally) as Eagles win Wentz trade

It feels like it was yesterday… in some ways. In others, it feels like Carson Wentz is a distant memory, and Jalen Hurts has been the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles for three seasons. Let’s dive deeper into that former thought (since it’s a popular discussion these days).

On March 17th, the Eagles traded what they believed to be their franchise quarterback to the Indianapolis Colts, reuniting him with Philly’s former offensive coordinator/Indy’s head coach Frank Reich. The Birds received a third-round draft choice during the 2021 NFL Draft and a conditional second-rounder in 2022’s selection meeting.

The conditions of that second-round choice in 2022 were easy to understand. The sometimes-fragile Wentz needed only play 75 percent of the offensive snaps during the Colts regular season or, if Indy found its way into the postseason, he would have needed to be on the field for seventy percent of the snaps.

Wentz held up his end of the bargain… for once (we’re speaking from the Eagles paradigm here). Thanks to his ability to remain vertical, Philadelphia will, indeed, walk into the 2022 NFL Draft with three first-round draft choices, and after careful review, we’re prepared to name the Birds the winners of this trade.

The Philadelphia Eagles owe Howie Roseman some gratitude for this one.

Sometimes, we’re rough on Howie Roseman, and honestly, he deserves it more often than not. The fact of the matter is this though.

As accurate as it is to state that he deserved to be fired following the 2020-2021 season, you’d also be right if you stated that it would be difficult to hand him his walking papers following a season in which the Eagles reached the postseason.

Stating that ‘Howie is the man with the plan’ would be a gross exaggeration of the facts. There are times when it looks like there’s no plan at all. His failures are, more often than not, franchise altering. His successes are few and far between, but even when he wins, it just kind of looks like he lucks into being right.

Sure, you have to credit him for piecing a Super Bowl-winning roster together, but employing that same strategy also led to a ‘Dream Team’ and some huge misses in roster-building.

Howie didn’t know that Jalen Hurts was better for this team than Wentz was. He got lucky, and in the end, that became one of the factors that saved his job. Let’s not act like he was prepared for Carson’s immediate evacuation. He wasn’t. He had no idea that Philly’s former QB1 wanted out.

Let’s talk about coaches. Howie had no clue that Doug Pederson would throw up the deuces this past offseason. You can make the argument that he may not have known who Nick Sirianni was.

All of the coaches that Howie wanted said no, including Brandon Staley, but thanks to a Frank Reich recommendation and some dumb luck (plus a favorable schedule), Roseman has managed to escape troubled waters again.

So again, even though he’s long been convicted in the court of public opinion, he has earned the right to again be the Eagles’ vice president/general manger in 2022, and whether you want to admit it or not, winning the trade that sent Carson Wentz to Indy is part of the reason that’s the case.

Philly got two draft picks, including a first-rounder in the coming selection meeting. The Birds found something in Jalen Hurts. They’ve found over $100 million in cap relief. Most importantly, the Eagles made the playoffs. The Indianapolis Colts didn’t.

Nothing has changed. When Carson Wentz needs to be at his best, he’s normally at his worst. He crumbles in the face of adversity while Jalen Hurts thrives, but there’s no need to sweat if you’re a Birds fan. Carson Wentz is Jim Irsay, Chris Ballard, and Frank Reich’s problem now.