Commanding Cap Space: The Price Of Trading For Carson Wentz

When getting 'the' guy turns into getting 'a' guy, the price is often harder to swallow

The Washington Commanders set out this offseason to find 'the guy' at quarterback. 

© Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterback, Carson Wentz

Quarterback, Carson Wentz

Robert Scheer/Indy Star

Quarterback, Carson Wentz

With Aaron Rodgers returning to the Green Bay Packers, Russell Wilson shipped off to the Denver Broncos, Deshaun Watson still not clear of the Houston Texans or criminal charges, and Jimmy Garoppolo unable to throw until July even if the San Francisco 49ers want to trade him, the quarterback shelves cleared out quick.

So, what does a team looking for its next franchise quarterback do in this situation? Go and grab the best player available, which apparently is Carson Wentz from the Indianapolis Colts. 

There'll be plenty of talk about whether it was the right or wrong decision, and Wentz's play is going to ultimately make the decision clear for everyone. 

In the meantime, let's examine what it's costing Washington to bring on the 2016 No. 2 overall draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles. 

First of all, it's going to cost the Commanders $28.29 million against their 2022 salary cap. 

Given an adjusted salary cap of $212.28 million, this leaves the team with just $2.88 million remaining, according to Spotrac.com.

Obviously, this number is going to have to move, and we've already been hearing about Commanders general manager Martin Mayhew being in talks with players like Landon Collins on restructuring current deals to free up some more money. 

Bottom line, Washington doesn't agree to take on all of Wentz's money in this deal if they don't already know they'll be freeing up some more of it soon. 

But why would Washington take the entire contract, absolving the Colts of any dead money in the process? 

Simply, to soften the draft capital. 

According to reports, Washington is sending Indianapolis third-round picks in 2022 and 23, and the two teams are swapping second-rounders this year.

Similar to the deal that got Wentz to the Colts from the Philadelphia Eagles, there's a condition attached that makes the 2023 third-round pick a second, if Wentz plays 70% or more of the team's snaps this season. 

While we don't know for certain, it's likely the Colts were asking for a hard 2023 second-round pick, but moved to a third with the conditional provisions in exchange for not having to eat any dead money. 

Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images

Quarterback, Carson Wentz

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Quarterback, Taylor Heinicke

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Head coach, Ron Rivera

In 2023, if Washington moves on from Wentz, then hopefully they've made that decision early, and won't have to give up the second. 

For the Colts, they have the most cap space of any NFL team as of now, and are rid of their one-year experiment gone bad. 

So it won't cost the Washington Commanders everything. And there's still time to make other moves to recoup some of the draft capital if they decide to do so. 

Played correctly, and Washington gave up nothing more than a few spots in the 2022 second round of the NFL Draft, and bring in competition for Taylor Heinicke from a quarterback who may just be on his last legs in the league. 

And if Wentz needed any further motivation, he'll play three games against his former teams this coming season.