GM Howie Roseman: Trading Carson Wentz 'in the best interest of' Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman went from "not talking about" trading unhappy quarterback Carson Wentz to agreeing to send the second selection of the 2016 NFL Draft to the Indianapolis Colts. That transaction became official at the start of the new league year on Wednesday afternoon. 

In comments shared by Dave Spadaro of the team's website, Roseman touched upon the trade that seemingly became inevitable after Wentz lost his Philadelphia job to 2020 rookie Jalen Hurts in December. 

"It's no secret about how we felt about Carson Wentz as a Philadelphia Eagle, whether it was the process of trading up for him in the (2016) draft or extending him (his contract) after the 2018 season, and we had this season where there were some things that happened and, obviously, Jalen (Hurts) ended up starting the last four games," Roseman explained. "We had some conversations with him and his representatives about what was the best thing to go forward and when we were doing the coaching search, communicating with him and his agent – really good, productive conversations, really good people – and they talked about maybe it was time for him to have a fresh start, that he was looking forward to a fresh start.

"For us, we've got to do what's in the best interest of our team. And so, if it didn't work for us, if it wasn't a situation where we thought we were also benefiting and he was put in a good spot, that was the only situation that would work for the Philadelphia Eagles. As we went through it and went through the offers that we got, particularly the offer from the Colts, the opportunity to not only get the picks but also get some financial flexibility back for our football team we decided going forward that that was the right decision going forward for us."

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and new head coach Nick Sirianni also spoke about the trade. 

Interestingly, the Eagles may not be all that sold on Hurts, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports is linking Philadelphia with a potential move for disgruntled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.