Jalen Hurts Pick Reportedly Factored into Carson Wentz Wanting to Leave Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles' decision to select Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft reportedly factored into Carson Wentz's desire to leave the organization. 

Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer explained how the choice made by general manager Howie Roseman, with input from team owner Jeffrey Lurie, impacted Wentz's thinking. 

"Roseman’s decision to draft Jalen Hurts in 2020, with encouragement from Lurie, was among the reasons Wentz wanted out of Philly, a source close to the quarterback said," McLane wrote. 

When the Eagles selected Hurts with the 53rd overall pick, many outside observers were caught off guard by the decision. Wentz signed his four-year, $128 million extension 10 months earlier, and the team seemed to have more pressing needs at other positions. 

Wentz did have an extensive injury history prior to the draft. The North Dakota State alum played all 16 games during the 2019 regular season for just the second time in his career, but he was knocked out of Philadelphia's NFC Wild Card Game loss to the Seattle Seahawks with a head injury. 

During the Eagles' run to the Super Bowl in 2017, Wentz missed the entire postseason after tearing his ACL in a Week 14 game against the Los Angeles Rams. He missed the first two games of 2018 recovering from knee surgery. A back injury caused him to miss the final five games, including two in the playoffs, that same year.

There have been rumblings for some time that Wentz didn't like the selection of Hurts. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported in December the former Pro Bowler was "not exactly thrilled" with the pick. 

Hurts finished the 2020 season as Philadelphia's starting quarterback after replacing Wentz midway through a Week 13 game against the Green Bay Packers. 

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen, the Eagles agreed to trade Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2021 third-round draft pick and a 2022 conditional second-round draft pick that could become a first-rounder. The deal is expected to become official when the new league year begins Wednesday. 

Wentz went 35-32-1 in 68 starts with Philadelphia over the past five seasons. The 2017 Pro Bowler threw for at least 3,000 yards in each of his first four seasons and had 81 touchdown passes in 40 games from 2017-19.