After 3 rocky seasons, Carson Wentz holds key to Eagles' Super Bowl hopes
PHILADELPHIA – So far, it has not been a charmed pro career for Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz through his first three NFL seasons.
Sure, Wentz is considered the face of the franchise, which was confirmed in June when the Eagles signed him to a four-year contract extension worth as much as $128 million.
But Wentz suffered season-ending injuries in each of the last two Decembers, then watched his backup, Nick Foles, lead playoff runs each time – the first culminating in the Eagles’ first-ever Super Bowl victory, when Foles was named the game’s MVP.
Then Wentz endured scathing criticism from unnamed teammates in a Phillyvoice.com article shortly after last season ended. Those players questioned Wentz’s leadership, called him selfish, and said he would refuse to run certain plays called by the coaching staff.
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It should be noted that several players, along with head coach Doug Pederson and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, said there was no merit to the report.
Still, when Foles left as a free agent in March, many fans wondered if the Eagles allowed the wrong quarterback to go.
“I don’t really want to reflect too much on a lot of that in the sense of I’m just excited about the future,” Wentz said. “Obviously, there have been a lot of things that have transpired over the last couple years to get us to this moment. At the same time, we realize we have something special right now, something special for the future here.”
For better or worse, Wentz is the focal point as the Eagles begin training camp Thursday with high expectations of a shot at a second Super Bowl championship in three seasons.
Yet all of it can come crashing down quickly if Wentz doesn't perform up to expectations or gets hurt again.
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That's because the Eagles added depth at practically every position on the roster, except at quarterback. With Foles gone, the backup is most likely Nate Sudfeld, who has thrown 25 career passes in the NFL, including just two last season.
“The last two years, we have been blessed to have Nick on our roster and our team, for what he has been able to do,” Pederson said. “But this is also a great opportunity for Carson to really regain the type of player (that) we saw in 2017, and really what we saw in 2018 when he was playing.”
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In 2017, Wentz was a leading candidate for MVP when he tore his ACL and LCL against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 10. The Eagles were 11-2 at that time, and Wentz’s last play was his 33rd touchdown pass of the season, setting a franchise record that had stood since 1961.
Foles took over and led the Eagles to two playoffs wins. Then he threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns in the Eagles’ 41-33 win over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Soon after, Foles published a book and was revered as a local hero.
Last season, Wentz set a franchise record for completion percentage at 69.6 percent, and his passer rating of 102.2 was even better than the 101.9 he posted in 2017.
Yet it was clear that Wentz didn't have the same mobility as the season before. The Eagles were 5-6 under Wentz when he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back following a loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 9. Wentz had missed the first two games of the season to complete his rehab from knee surgery.
Foles took over and led the Eagles to three straight must-wins as the Eagles reached the playoffs. Then Foles led a last-minute drive to beat the Chicago Bears in the first round of the playoffs before coming up just short the following week against the New Orleans Saints.
Soon after, the Eagles hitched their wagon to Wentz and proved it by signing him to the contract extension, with the most (for now) guaranteed money for a quarterback in NFL history at $107.9 million.
There is no alternative anymore.
“He is a tremendous leader, and quite frankly, I don’t think a lot of that (pressure) bothers him,” Pederson said about Wentz. “He just moves on. He is excited for this new season. It’s a new team. There are new guys around him. He is energized. He feels good. And I’m just excited for that.”
The “feels good” might be the most important thing Pederson said.
It was evident that Wentz didn’t have the same mobility when he returned last season, as much as the Eagles insisted that they didn’t limit Wentz with the play calls. Still, Wentz appeared on the injury report for two weeks in late October as a limited participant in practice with a back injury.
Wentz never missed a practice or a game until the stress fracture diagnosis in December.
Tight end Zach Ertz let it slip in the spring that Wentz was playing through “a broken back.” He later said that he might have “over-spoke.”
The improvement in Wentz’s mobility was noticeable during spring practices. Unlike last season, Wentz participated in every spring practice, forming a bond with wide receiver DeSean Jackson, especially on deep balls. Wentz will also have a full training camp this year, something he didn’t have last summer, when he was often held out of 11-on-11 drills.
“You just see now he’s another year removed from the surgery, and there’s just the comfort and the speed that he’s moving with,” Eagles quarterbacks coach Press Taylor said. “It’s what we expected to see with him.”
That’s why center Jason Kelce said he’d be surprised if Wentz wasn’t back to that MVP form this season.
“Carson is an incredible player,” Kelce said. “Not only can he make all of the throws necessary, but he’s incredibly smart, cerebral guy. He’s got the work ethic, he’s got the drive. He’s got all of it. I have nothing but high expectations for Carson Wentz in this offense.”
So does Wentz. That’s why he’s not looking back at his first three seasons.
“I don’t play the ‘what if’ game too much, and really don’t worry about what other people think, might say, all that stuff,” Wentz said. “That’s always going to be there. That’s what you sign up for when you play this game – the scrutiny, the pressure, all those different things.
“I’ll never get caught up in that. I try not to sweat it.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.