Bears latest coaching decision further hints at Carson Wentz trade

Could the Chicago Bears be tipping their hand about a potential Carson Wentz trade with their latest coaching staff decision?

Once the Chicago Bears‘ season reached its conclusion in the NFC Wild Card Round, head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace were ensured that their jobs were safe heading into the new league year. However, this offseason is of the utmost importance, because they have to find a solution for their quarterback problem.

This weekend, a report indicated that the Bears were close to a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles which would bring quarterback Carson Wentz to the Windy City. With a trade expected to happen in the “coming days,” did the Bears hint that the move is incoming?

According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the Bears are promoting quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo to passing game coordinator. He fills in for Dave Ragone, who accepted the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator job.

Move is more of a coincidence than anything

Wentz and DeFilippo are tied to the hip. Back in 2016, the Eagles hired DeFilippo to be their new quarterbacks coach after a one season stint as Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator. Months after his hiring, the Eagles traded up to the second overall spot in the NFL Draft to select Wentz out of North Dakota State.

The two found success in the 2017 campaign, where Wentz was playing like the NFL MVP favorite. Unfortunately, the signal caller’s campaign came to an abrupt halt after he tore his knee. Through 13 games, Wentz completed 60.2-percent of his passes for 3,296 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Even with Wentz sidelined with the serious injury, the Eagles still rode their way to a Super Bowl 52 victory over the New England Patriots with Nick Foles starting under center.

But when it comes to the timing, this is all a coincidence. DeFilippo joined Nagy’s staff as quarterbacks coach this past season after two offensive coordinator stints with the Minnesota Vikings (2018) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2019). With Ragone joining Arthur Smith’s staff in Atlanta, it only made sense for Nagy to promote from within.

The aforementioned report said that the trade offer was that the Bears would send a first-round draft pick, running back Tarik Cohen and Foles to Philadelphia in exchange for Wentz. However, NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo reported that a Wentz trade is not imminent, as the Eagles are still looking for an offer to entice them to move on from the quarterback. Garafolo did note that the Bears were one of the teams involved.

If the Bears were to acquire Wentz, they would not only be inheriting his entire four-year, $128 million contract, but also the task with fixing Wentz’s game after an abysmal 2020 campaign. Again, do not look too much into the DeFilippo promotion. We can do so if and when a trade between the Eagles and Bears is finalized.