With Carson Wentz hitting the bench this weekend, it’s only appropriate to look back at one of the first notable transactions involving the quarterback. On this date in 2017, the Eagles placed Wentz on the injured reserve.
At this point three years ago, Wentz hadn’t yet been labeled as injury prone. The 2016 second-overall pick started all 16 games during his rookie season, with Wentz playing the second-most snaps in the NFL that year (per Football Outsiders). The young quarterback was also rolling during the 2017 campaign, helping the Eagles to an 11-2 record by tossing 33 touchdowns through 13 games (a performance that would ultimately garner him his lone Pro Bowl nod).
However, during Philly’s NFC-East-clinching Week 14 win over the Rams, Wentz suffered a torn ACL, ending his season. We all know what happened next; backup Nick Foles took over under center and helped guide the Eagles to a Super Bowl LII victory over the Patriots.
Wentz suffered (pseudo) season-ending injuries in both of the next two seasons. After missing the first two games of the 2018 season as he recovered from knee surgery, the quarterback regained his starting spot. A back injury ended up sidelining him for the remainder of the season and playoffs, with Foles again taking over as the starter. Wentz managed to appear in all 16 games during the 2019 campaign, but during his postseason debut, he suffered a head injury following a helmet-to-helmet hit with Jadeveon Clowney during the NFC Wild Card game. That first-quarter injury ultimately sidelined Wentz for the rest of the game.
Wentz managed to return from his concussion and start each of the Eagles 12 games in 2020. However, the 27-year-old’s performance took a significant dip; Wentz has connected on a career-low 57.4-percent of his passes, and he leads the NFL in sacks taken (50) and interceptions (15 vs. only 16 touchdowns). Doug Pederson ended up benching Wentz for rookie Jalen Hurts during the second half of last weekend’s loss to the Packers, and the 2020 second-rounder will get the start this weekend against the Saints.
On this date in 2017, there was still plenty of optimism surrounding Wentz; NFL.com listed him third in their ranking of the top-100 players heading into the 2018 campaign. Things obviously could have been a lot worse for the Eagles (the team can always point to their Super Bowl rings), but the transaction that took place three years ago today proved to be a sign of things to come.
Philly made the classic error. Rather than letting older players go, they signed 28-30+ year old guys to new deals after winning the SB.
Umm, who are the players that should have walked?
Peters? That could be true, but we’ve seen how woefully underprepared the Eagles’ line has been this year. Even then, they DID try to let him go. Injuries brought him back. Jackson? Sure, but he hasn’t really played this year, and it’s hard to determine the impact of a player like him on a position group that has been severely underwhelming this year with or without him. Jenkins? He was cut this past offseason. Graham? I guess the argument could be made, but comparatively speaking, he’s been better or at least on par with the other EDGE guys that they have this year and last.
Not sure who else is 30 or older now, much less at the time we’re discussing, and who’d have qualified for the discussion. The Eagles have plenty to sort through, but their problems are not tied to the ages of their players. Their coaching has been putrid, and most of players have been playing poorly and affecting the overall competitiveness of the team-including those players who may have a chance at helping the Eagles in the future.