East Notes: Wentz, Garoppolo, Jets

It’s won’t come as much of a surprise, but Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz will likely be spending at least the first part of his rookie season on the inactive list, according to head coach Doug Pederson (article via Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com). Said Peterson, “Typically, the third quarterback is down. It’s hard right now to look down the road, but if we had to play this week, Carson would be down. He’d be the third quarterback. He’d be deactivated. That’s probably the direction we’re heading, I would think is going that route.”

After re-signing Sam Bradford this offseason and acquiring Chase Daniel, the Eagles can afford to be patient with Wentz, whom the team selected with the No. 2 overall pick of this year’s draft after sending a ransom of draft picks to Cleveland to grab that second overall selection. Philadelphia fully expects Wentz to be a long-term fixture under center, but it knows that the North Dakota State product will need time to transition to the pro game.

Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from the league’s east divisions:

• In the wake of Tom Brady‘s decision to not file a petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court, Jim McBride of The Boston Globe lays out what to expect from Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s four-week audition to open the 2016 season. McBride opines that, if Garoppolo can lead his club to a 3-1, or even 2-2 mark, he will have solidified his place as an NFL starter. And while he will of course turn the reins back over to Brady at that point, New England could seek to lock him up long term or else try and deal him after the season for a draft pick or two. Garoppolo’s contract expires at the end of the 2017 season–Brady’s does not expire until the end of the 2019 campaign–and a successful stint as a starter in 2016 could make him a highly-coveted free agent at that time. The Patriots, of course, are fully aware of this prospective timeline, which was a significant factor in their decision to grab Jacoby Brissett in this year’s draft.
• Brian Costello of The New York Post believes Jets GM Mike Maccagnan scored “big points” when he found a way to keep Muhammad Wilkerson in the fold on a long-term basis with an 11th-hour extension, but the longer the Ryan Fitzpatrick situation remains unresolved, the worse things could get for Maccagnan. If the team does not come to an agreement with Fitzpatrick, it is not difficult to envision default starter Geno Smith struggling out of the gate, at which point Maccagnan’s approval rating, which is pretty high right now, would plummet, as he, rather than Smith or head coach Todd Bowles, would be the scapegoat. Neither the GM nor Fitzpatrick has blinked during these negotiations, and as training camp inches closer, there are no new developments to report.
• Yesterday, PFR’s Dallas Robinson looked at how the Wilkerson deal with the Jets came together, and what it means for the future of the club’s defensive line.