With Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts starting at quarterback, what happens to Carson Wentz?
PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles will feel the repercussions of switching from Carson Wentz to Jalen Hurts at quarterback, a move that head coach Doug Pederson announced Tuesday and explained more on Wednesday.
For one, what becomes of Wentz?
He has started every game that he has been healthy to play in since his rookie season in 2016. Now, Wentz will take a seat for the first time. That will begin Sunday when the Eagles face the New Orleans Saints.
Pederson said Wentz will likely be the backup, but he said it's also possible that Wentz won't be on the game-day roster at all, with Nate Sudfeld serving as the backup.
"We’ll see how the week goes as far as that," Pederson said. "I would expect him to be (the backup)."
That doesn't mean that Pederson thinks Wentz is a lost cause, even during what has been so far the worst season of his career – a completion percentage of 57.4, a career- and NFL-high 15 interceptions, and sacked a league-high 50 times.
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"I think Carson Wentz can be an exceptional quarterback in this league," Pederson said. "He’s proven that, right, in ’17, ’18 and last year. We gotta continue to battle and fight and work, and work with him individually.
"That’s my focus with him, to just get him back to the level of play that we all know that he has shown us, and that he is capable of doing."
But that will have to be as a member of the scout team, a role Wentz is assuming in practice on Wednesday.
Pederson would not say whether Hurts will get the chance to start for the rest of the season, or just the game against the Saints.
"I don’t have a crystal ball," Pederson said. "I can’t predict the future, right? Come on. All I can focus on is today and getting our team prepared today, and getting our guys ready for Sunday."
It'll be a change for the players, too, to play behind Hurts, the Eagles' second-round pick in the draft last spring.
Rookie wide receiver Jalen Reagor, taken in the first round, said he hasn't worked much with Hurts because Reagor was mostly working with Wentz and the starters.
Was he surprised?
"It wasn’t even for me to be surprised or shocked or any of that," Reagor said. "That’s not my decision. I just have to do my job and focus on what I’m here to do. Whoever made that decision, that was for them to focus on. I’m just here in all my power to make the quarterback right. It wasn’t shocking, it is what it is."
Still, Reagor caught a 34-yard pass from Hurts, shortly after Hurts replaced Wentz midway through the third quarter of the Eagles' 30-16 loss to Green Bay on Sunday. That was Reagor's longest reception since the season opener, when he hauled in a 55-yard pass from Wentz.
Reagor did miss five games earlier in the season.
But Reagor has gotten to know Hurts pretty well, going back to their college days when Hurts was at Alabama, then Oklahoma, while Reagor was at Texas Christian.
"He’s a very laid-back guy like myself," Reagor said. "We kind of share the same type of personality. We joke a lot. A lot of people don’t really know about the things we do outside of football because we’re pretty laid-back guys. We like to chill.
"He’s about his business, about his work, and I’m pretty confident in him."
Still, it'll be an adjustment for everybody, as receiver Greg Ward said. Ward, who caught Hurts' first touchdown pass, a 32-yarder on a 4th-and-18 play, admitted that he was surprised by the move.
"I'm very excited for his opportunity," Ward said. "Jalen came into the game and was ... trying to make plays, whether it was on the ground or just throwing the ball."
In all, Hurts was five of 12 passing for 109 yards with a touchdown and interception. Hurts also ran for 29 yards.
He'll have a tough task against the Saints, who have the top-ranked defense in the NFL in terms of yards allowed per game (289). The Saints are second in rushing yards allowed per game (76) and fourth in passing yards allowed (213).
Ward said Hurts is up to the challenge.
"He's a natural leader," Ward said. "He's going to try to come in and take control, and try to make plays. That's all you can ask for."
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Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl