Carson Wentz signs rookie deal with Eagles:

On Thursday, the Philadelphia Eagles signed the 2^nd-overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft Carson Wentz to a four-year contract worth $26.67 million, including a $17.6 million signing bonus. It’s a fraction of the $86 million rookie deal suggested Eagles starter Sam Bradford signed when he was the last 1^st-overall pick before the latest collective bargaining agreement which included the new slotted rookie wage scale.

In fact, the $26.67 million deal Wentz signed to be the future of the Eagles franchise is less than a million dollars more than Bradford is guaranteed over the next two seasons.

Despite the optimism in Philadelphia about their new rookie signal caller, the Eagles suggest the North Dakota State product will learn from the sidelines during his rookie season while the oft-injured Bradford will remain the starting quarterback for at least one more year.

While new Eagles head coach Doug Pederson may suggest that the plan is to remain patient with Wentz, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the rookie doesn’t see the field at some point this season if the Eagles struggle or Bradford is injured. Sure, Philadelphia also dipped into their pocket books this offseason to make Chase Daniel a very wealthy back-up quarterback, but it’s hard to imagine the Eagles fan base being patient about watching Daniel toil around under center if the season is in the tank or Bradford is on the shelf.

Wentz has ideal size and athleticism for an NFL quarterback, but some are concerned about the learning curve for a quarterback that didn’t play division one football in college.

The Eagles can preach patience all they want, but at the end of the day the price tag for Wentz only begins with his new rookie contract and the 2^nd-overall pick Philadelphia used to select him. Like Robert Griffin, III and his rookie classmate Jared Goff, Wentz will be compared to the haul of players and draft picks that ultimately went into acquiring him. Whether it’s 2016 or 2017, the Eagles new signal caller will have to be exceptional for Philadelphia fans to not act like Philadelphia fans.

Michael Bennett wants some more money:

The Seattle Seahawks are beginning to suffer from what could be referred to as “good team syndrome.” When teams win, it’s typically because of one of a few reasons.

Two of the things that often propel teams to success is drafting well, and having free agent signings outperform their contracts. For the Seahawks, they fall squarely into both conversations which is a blessing and a curse.

Obviously every team in football would take the blessing of having multiple guys pan out better than expected, but then there comes the balancing act of the curse which is having to try to pay those guys.

Whether it’s been offensively with Russell Wilson, or on the defensive side of the ball with guys like Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor, Seattle has drafted players late and watched them turn into unquestioned NFL superstars.

One of the Seahawks’ better free agent signings has been defensive end Michael Bennett, who signed with the team in 2013 and then a new deal in 2014. However, after a career-high 10-sack 2015 season, Bennett believes he once again deserves a new deal.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider joined Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk Wednesday and tried to explain the juggling act that is the job of the GM of a talented football team.

“I don’t get the impression he’s fine with his contract,” Schneider told Florio via SeattlePi.com. “But I think he recognizes it’s a team sport, and I’m sure he sees a couple of his teammates who have one year left on their contracts. He has two left on his. We have a couple guys that are going to be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season that we’d like to try to take care of as well.”

While Bennett has been absent from voluntary workouts, the Seahawks general manager expressed optimism that the talented defensive end understands where the team is coming from on the issue.

“It’s always a rotating deal when you talk about everybody’s contract issues and everything,’‘ Schneider said. “Bennett is not here right now, but there are a couple other players who aren’t here. Cliff’s not here, Earl’s on his honeymoon and stuff. Michael is a guy that takes very good care of his body. He’s one hell of a football player.”

The Seahawks have one of the deepest and more talented rosters in the NFL, and as long as that’s the case, they’ll have to dance the dance to try to fit all of those talented players on the roster while simultaneously trying to keep them all happy about how they’re being compensated. It’s a difficult job, but it’s a good problem to have, and sure as hell beats the alternative!

Eagles and Broncos couldn’t agree on compensation for Sam Bradford:

Now that Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford has gone back to Philadelphia with his tail between his legs, ready to play for the Eagles, the story about why he tried to force his way out of town is becoming more interesting.

Appearing on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday, Bradford’s agent admitted the trade request was a ploy to try to get the quarterback to Denver where he and Condon imagined he could be for a long time.

“We thought we had a chance to go to a really good football team and be there for a long time,” said Condon. “And that opportunity was there and actually the attempt was made.”

While this is exactly the kind of thing many people speculated when Bradford made the trade request, it’s fascinating to see Condon come right out and admit they tried to manipulate the quarterback’s way to Denver. The former 1^st-overall pick knew exactly what it meant when the Eagles traded up for Wentz, and he Condon wanted to try to control what happened next.

“When the Broncos contacted the Eagles and talked about the trade, they couldn’t agree on the price and so they drafted somebody in the first round,” Condon continued. “Now, at that point, our options are pretty limited. So our next best option is to go back and prepare for the season.”

Yes, quarterback who’s done absolutely nothing since being drafted into the NFL. Why don’t you try to go earn an opportunity for the first time since strapping on the helmet at Oklahoma?