Cartoon: Eagles fans can look forward to next season, right?

What’s left to say about an Eagles season that concluded Sunday night with the Birds in last place in arguably the worst division in the history of the NFL? Even NBC sports announcers Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth took turns criticizing the team’s decisions.

Monday morning, everyone is focusing on last night’s “tanking,” but the bigger problem remains next season, which is starting to look more like a rebuild than the Eagles’ glorious return to the postseason (though in a division where a nameless “Football Team” with a losing record will host a playoff game, anything’s possible, I guess).

After being benched for Jalen Hurts, Carson Wentz has a relationship with Doug Pederson that is “fractured beyond repair,” according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. Wentz apparently wants to be traded, but the team would take a sizable salary-cap hit it can’t afford if it dishes him, so that seems unlikely.

Add to that the likely loss of Zach Ertz and Jason Kelce, both of whom were spotted talking on the field with Wentz early Monday after the game. Their departures would leave even more holes to fill on a roster in desperate need of some talent. Yes, the Eagles have the No. 6 pick in the draft, but as Kelce himself pointed out last month, “In football — this isn’t basketball — one draft pick isn’t going to make us a Super Bowl champion.”

I drew two cartoons a couple of years ago that seem unfortunately timely today: Doug Pederson surrounded by flames (a riff on a popular strip by artist KC Green) and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie proudly standing before a Dumpster fire. They were never meant to be evergreen, but sadly I expect they’ll be relevant for some time.

Here’s a roundup of some of my Eagles cartoons this season. For more editorial cartoons, visit the Inquirer’s cartoon section.