NFC Notes: Eagles, Giants, Washington

Eagles

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer writes he doesn’t think the Eagles will be able to get a first-round pick for QB Carson Wentz without some strings attached as the market is far off of what Philadelphia was hoping for due to Wentz’s contract, his awful 2020 tape and his growing reputation for being hard to coach. 
• NJ.com’s Mike Kaye notes the Eagles don’t really have to trade Wentz until his roster bonus the third day of the league year, which serves as a pseudo-deadline. 
• However, both the Colts and the Bears, the top trade contenders for Wentz, have other, cheaper backup plans on deck, and if either team moves forward with those, the Eagles’ leverage in a Wentz trade will bottom out. 
• Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer says if the Colts had the best offer on the table for Wentz, a deal would likely be done as it’s the quarterback’s preferred destination. However, if Indianapolis is lukewarm on a deal, Wentz doesn’t have many recourses to block a trade to the Bears. 
• A group of the Eagles’ young receivers plan on working out with QB Jalen Hurts in Texas in the next few weeks. (John Clark)

Giants

• Ralph Vacchiano of SNY takes a look at six potential cap casualties for the Giants this offseason including LT Nate Solder, WR Golden Tate, G Kevin Zeitler, TE Levine Toilolo, P Riley Dixon and WR Cody Core.
• Vacchiano notes that Solder’s cap savings stays the same whether he’s released or retires. He carries a cap figure of $16.5 million in 2021 and would net the Giants $6 million of cap room by being released. 
• Vacchiano writes there is “no reason” to bring back Tate given he is 33-years old and carries a $10.8 million cap number. They’d pick up $6.1 million by cutting him. 
• Regarding Zeitler, Vacchiano mentions that he has a $14.5 million cap number and is entering the final year of his contract, meaning they cannot restructure his deal without an extension. Releasing him outright would result in $12 million of cap room. 
• ESPN’s Jordan Raanan said multiple team and league sources reiterated to him that the Giants are committed to QB Daniel Jones for the 2021 season. 

Washington

It appears that after considering retirement following his successful return from leg surgery and winning Comeback Player of the Year, Washington QB Alex Smith instead plans on trying to play in 2021. That sets up an interesting situation with the team, as while they value his leadership immensely, his health status makes keeping him under his current contract a non-starter. 

“I’m told that Alex Smith after a great comeback year, going 5-2 down the stretch, he does want to continue playing football,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on SportsCenter via Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway. “He’s leaning that way, but he’s got a large cap hit. Washington could save $13.6 million if they did move on. And many people around the league believe their answer at quarterback is not in the building. So maybe they could work something out with Smith, but he does want to play somewhere.”