The Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles were reportedly at a stalemate for weeks when it came to the trade talks surrounding quarterback Carson Wentz.
While a deal eventually got done with the Colts sending a pair of draft picks to Philly, general manager Chris Ballard reportedly told Eagles general manager Howie Roseman that there was an expiration date on his offer, Albert Breer reported in his MMQB column for Sports Illustrated on Monday.
The relationship between Ballard and Roseman kept the talks from getting to a point of no return, but the former made it clear he wasn’t going to wait around.
The trust between the two sides—the Eagles obviously know Reich well, and Colts GM Chris Ballard and Roseman have a strong relationship—kept that stalemate from ever becoming contentious. Still, more than two weeks had passed since the Stafford trade, and plenty of back-and-forth had happened. That led Ballard to tell the Eagles early last week that he wasn’t willing to wait forever. His offer had an expiration date.
This sounds like Ballard. The meticulous and calculated general manager who has a plan for everything wasn’t going to wait around all offseason not knowing who his quarterback was—or at least what the plan was to acquire him.
While the Eagles were hoping for a Matthew Stafford-like haul, that reportedly drove teams away, especially considering most would compare Wentz to the Jared Goff part of that deal.
But now Wentz is in Indy with the offensive coordinator who led his MVP-like season in 2017. Whether they can get it done and get him back to form remains to be seen, but the Colts are hoping his arrival will keep them in the playoff race.
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