You’ve got to give Carson Wentz credit for this. He just keeps on coming back. Last year — as a member of the Chiefs when asked what NFL quarterback that he would trade places with for one chance — one opportunity — of course he wanted to suit up instead of Nick Foles’ in Super Bowl LII’s 41–33 Philadelphia win over New England.
And who could blame him?
This Sunday — Carson Wentz has resurfaced against the Eagles once again as he leads the Minnesota Vikings against 4–2 Philadelphia. It’s just another episode of Wentz vs. the team that drafted him in the first round in 2016. After being traded in 2021 and passing an incoming Nick Sirianni like ships in the night when Nick left Indianapolis and Carson went to the Colts — Wentz has now played for five NFL teams. Last season — he ended the year trying his best to support Patrick Mahomes in the second half of the Eagles 40–22 domination of Kansas City in Super Bowl LIX.
Eight years ago — when Wentz ripped multiple ligaments in his knee against the Rams in Los Angeles — almost everyone thought that although the Eagles 11–2 season was over that Wentz was it’s future franchise quarterback. But coming back from injury too soon in 2019 coupled with other ailments, a regression, and a sense of invincibility amid a 4–11–1 season all contributed to finally sending Wentz packing.
To Wentz’s point — what if things had been different? Do we really think that he could have put on an aerial performance worthy of outscoring Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl LII? Or if Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni had refused to give up and re-tooled and fortified around him in 2021 — keeping Jalen Hurts on the sideline? Would the Eagles have advanced to play in Super Bowl LVII and win Super Bowl LIX? And would Jalen Hurts have been satisfied as a backup quarterback?
The answer to certainly all of these questions is no. Even at the level that Wentz was playing at in 2017 would have been a hard sell to believe that in his second year he could have mirrored Nick Foles’ veteran offensive output in the Super Bowl. Even with Nick Foles already gone it would have been difficult to fortify the future around Wentz — a quarterback who had already asked for a trade. And would Jalen Hurts have been the player asking for that trade a few years later if the Eagles had been unwavering in their support of Carson Wentz?
Carson Wentz is now 32 years old. It’s increasingly unlikely to be targeted as a franchise quarterback with another NFL team. Odds are that he’ll finish his career as a journeyman — filling in for JJ McCarthy until his return or a backup to players like Patrick Mahomes. The difference between the former first-round draft pick and the team that drafted him in April 2016 has one constant — it turned out to be a missed opportunity for both.
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