Among a flurry of activity around the NFL, the trade that sent Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders raised some eyebrows. With Wentz on the move for the second offseason in a row, let’s take a look at the details of the trade and the salary cap implications for both the Commanders and the Indianapolis Colts.
Looking at the Carson Wentz trade details
Just a year after the Colts traded for him, Wentz is on the move out of Indianapolis. This time, Wentz is heading back to the NFC East, with the Commanders of Washington his destination. The trade terms are somewhat unremarkable, although the symmetry with the move the year before is intriguing.
Here are the full terms of the Wentz trade:
- Commanders receive:
- Carson Wentz
- 2022 second-round pick (No. 47)
- Colts receive
- 2022 second-round pick (No. 42)
- 2022 third-round pick (No. 82)
- 2023 third-round pick (conditional selection that could become a second-rounder)
The move came just a week before Wentz was due to have a further $12 million in base salary and roster bonuses become fully guaranteed. Let’s take a look at what the deal means in terms of the draft picks and the salary cap implications.
The picks
There is an intriguing symmetry in this deal. When the Colts traded for Wentz, they sent a provisional second-round selection in 2022 that could rise to a first-round selection if certain conditions were met. Those conditions were based on playing time, and there are similar terms in this trade. If Wentz plays more than 70% of the Commanders’ snaps in 2022, that third-round selection in 2023 will become a second-round pick.
The Colts are taking a slight loss on this deal for Wentz. They paid a third-round selection in 2021 and that first-round selection in 2022 in order to acquire him. In this trade, they get to move up five picks in the second round, recoup their third-rounder, and get a potential second-round selection next year. While the first-round pick trumps all of that, the Colts can still be delighted in the value they got back for Wentz a year later.
The Colts are left with no dead money after the Wentz trade
The nature of releasing or trading an asset you acquired by trade is that there is often no dead money remaining after the deal. In this case, Wentz had $15 million of his 2022 salary guaranteed, so they could not release him. However, by trading him away, the Colts save the complete $28.294 million in cap space that was owed to Wentz. Of course, they will need to spend some of that on a QB, but it instantly made the Colts one of the best teams in the league in terms of cap space.
The Commanders will take on all of that cap number in 2022. They owe Wentz $22 million in base salary and $6.3 million in terms of a roster bonus. There is no further guaranteed money on his deal, so the Commanders could feasibly move on from Wentz’s contract after this offseason.