Carson Wentz

Eagles Concerned Carson Wentz Tore ACL

December 10th, 2017 at 6:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles are concerned Carson Wentz suffered a torn ACL during the third-quarter sequence that ended his game, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

The Associated Press also is reporting this diagnosis, adding (via Twitter) the star passer will have an MRI on Monday to confirm it. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports the Eagles believe Wentz’s season is over.

Wentz injured his left knee on an awkward-looking play, and Fox’s Erin Andrews reported team officials left an examination on the MVP candidate shaking their heads (Twitter link via Albert Breer of SI.com). Nick Foles took over for Wentz, whom the team immediately declared out for the game after he went to the visitors’ locker room.

Schefter adds that as Wentz exited the field shortly after, his left knee buckled to induce the locker room trip. (Twitter link). Wentz remained in the game for four plays after this hit and threw a touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery, helping the visitors to a 43-35 victory in a key NFC game.

This would obviously be a crushing blow for an Eagles team that’s authored its best season since the franchise’s 2004 NFC title campaign.

Wentz threw four touchdown passes against the Rams and set the franchise record for touchdown passes in a season; he now has 33 while having thrown only seven interceptions. The second-year passer has made a tremendous leap from his rookie season and stands as one of the most important players in the NFL presently.

The North Dakota State product has already more than doubled his touchdown-pass output from his rookie season, and if these reports are accurate, will see a brutal end to a breakout slate and a lengthy rehab process. It also continues what’s been a vicious year for quarterback health around the league.

The Eagles clinched the NFC East championship with their win and have won 11 games for the first time since Donovan McNabb‘s last full season as the starter, in 2009. But Monday’s impending MRI could make this a muted celebration for the NFC’s current No. 1 seed.

Hue Jackson Wanted To Draft Carson Wentz?

December 3rd, 2017 at 3:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

While we’re more than a year and a half removed from the 2016 draft, one team’s actions continue to be discussed. And considering what could happen to the Browns’ power structure at the end of this season, their recent draft decisions could end up being seminal choices.

The Browns have passed on multiple players who look like long-term quarterback solutions in Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson, but in Hue Jackson‘s first months in Cleveland, he had his eye on Wentz.

Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports Jackson actually preferred Wentz to Jared Goff. This runs contrary to previous reports that indicated he (and veteran Browns scouts dismissed before the draft) liked the current Rams passer prior to his team’s trade-down decision.

Jackson’s pro-Goff vibe stemmed from a close-to-the-vest mindset, Cabot notes. He worked out Goff privately but was the only head coach to attend Wentz’s pro day. Wentz assumed the Browns were going to draft him, per Cabot, after he and Jackson developed a strong rapport before the draft.

The private workout he and then-assistant Pep Hamilton conducted with Wentz had the duo “instantly sold” Wentz was the Browns’ quarterback of the future. The Browns, of course, traded that pick to the Eagles for a bounty of draft picks. Cabot reports Browns management wasn’t going to be dissuaded from unloading that No. 2 selection because of the myriad needs their team had, and the Eagles aren’t regretting their decision.

When the Browns and Eagles faced off in the 2016 opener, Cabot reports Jackson felt he received a “chilly” reception from Wentz because of the draft snub and Paul DePodesta‘s infamous not-a-top-20-QB comment. Cabot also reports part of the reason Hamilton left Cleveland for Michigan after one season is how far off the Browns were on their evaluations on that 2016 quarterback class.

This would not be the only time Jackson didn’t get his way regarding a quarterback during his eventful stay in northeast Ohio.

Trade targets Jimmy Garoppolo and A.J. McCarron fell through, the latter in an embarrassing snafu. Cleveland is 0-11 and contemplating major changes this offseason, and Jackson is said to want more decision-making power if he returns in 2018.

NFC Rumors: Watkins, Elliott, Eagles

August 12th, 2017 at 8:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sammy Watkins addressed his contract situation for the first time as a Rams employee on Saturday. Rams GM Les Snead said Friday he hopes to sign the recent trade acquisition to an extension and avoid a one-and-done scenario for the former first-round pick. But it doesn’t sound like Watkins is especially anxious to discuss a new deal just yet. The former Bills No. 1 target may be willing to take his chances he can enhance his stock this season.

“I gotta handle my business and control what I can control. If I go out there and have a year that I’m expecting to have, then we can talk contract,” Watkins said, via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. “But I still gotta go out there and do my job and let those guys handle the paperwork, contracts, numbers.”

Watkins is a free agent after this season. Plenty of dominoes could fall to rearrange the marketplace between now and free agency, though. Joining Watkins as walk-year receivers are DeAndre Hopkins, Jarvis Landry, Alshon Jeffery, Terrelle Pryor, Jordan Matthews, Allen Robinson and Davante Adams. Extensions for players in this group will affect the others. But Watkins is also coming off an injury-plagued season, so the 24-year-old pass-catcher staying healthy is probably his top obstacle in the path of a possible eight-figure-per-year deal. On that front, Watkins said (per Gonzalez, on Twitter) his foot is “100 percent healthy.”

Here’s the latest from the NFC:

The advisors who played a key role in the Ezekiel Elliott investigation did not recommend a specific suspension to Roger Goodell, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports. The commissioner handed out the six-game ban to the Cowboys running back in accordance with the December 2014 adjustment to the personal conduct policy that mandated a minimum six-game suspension for domestic violence. While Josh Brown managed to receive only a one-game ban for his alleged domestic-abuse incidents, the NFL followed its revised protocols in the Elliott case.
One off-field allegation appears to be in Elliott’s past, however. The accusation from a man who said Elliott broke his nose at a bar in July is closed, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said (via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, on Twitter). McCarthy added the caveat of new evidence potentially prompting the league to revisit the matter, but for now, it’s closed. Local authorities closed this investigation shortly after the alleged incident occurred, with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk pointing out the victim could not be located.
Carson Wentz did not appear to be pleased by the Eagles trading Matthews to the Bills. The second-year quarterback met with Howie Roseman just before news of the trade broke. “I spoke with Howie shortly before it was news. He told me is was already done,” Wentz said, per Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com. “He obviously knew how I felt with Jordan being one of my best friends. On the personal side it’s tough. He knew that, he was prepared for that and I told him that.” Matthews has been Philadelphia’s most reliable receiver over the past two seasons, leading Philly wideouts in receiving yards by comfortable margins in each. Shorr-Parks adds in a separate piece the Eagles will regret this trade. Of the players the Eagles are projected to start now, only Nelson Agholor is controlled past 2017. Shorr-Parks notes Jeffery’s injury history, Torrey Smith‘s rough 2016 season and the uncertainty surrounding Agholor don’t provide much certainty for this corps.
The draft choice the Eagles will receive in the Matthews/Ronald Darby swap is not a conditional third-rounder, as it was initially reported on the NFL transaction wire. The Eagles will send the Bills their third-round pick in 2018, Jeff McLane of Philly.com tweets.

NFC Notes: Rams, Elliott, Wentz, Redskins

July 14th, 2017 at 9:11pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

There’s still no movement toward a deal between the Rams and cornerback Trumaine Johnson, per ESPN.com’s Alden Gonzalez, who’s the latest to report that he’ll play 2017 under the franchise tag. Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson relayed earlier this week that no agreement would come to fruition by Monday’s deadline, meaning Johnson will play the season as the NFL’s highest-paid corner. Johnson will earn $16.742MM in his second straight year as the Rams’ franchise player, and the likelihood is that he’ll test the free agent market next offseason. Tagging him again isn’t going to happen because doing so would cost the Rams $24.1MM.

Elsewhere around the NFC…

The NFL needs to make a decision on whether to suspend Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott as soon as possible, opines Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. In doing so, he league would ensure that the internal appeals process would be resolved by Week 1, reasons Florio. Elliott is bracing for a season-opening ban, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, and Florio wonders if the league leaked that information to Schefter in order to gauge the opinions of both the public and Jerry Jones. The Cowboys owner has made it known to NFL higher-ups that he won’t react kindly if the league suspends one of his stars without ample justification, reports Florio. Given the power Jones has, the NFL “needs to placate” him, writes Florio; at the same time, the league’s also in a difficult situation because it can’t afford to screw up another ruling involving domestic violence.
The Eagles want to “take a little bit off” second-year quarterback Carson Wentz‘s plate this season, head coach Doug Pederson told Comcast SportsNet’s John Clark this week (via Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com). Pederson believes that the offseason additions of wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith and running back LeGarrette Blount should make life easier for Wentz, who didn’t have enough help at the skill positions last season and attempted 607 passes – the second-highest rookie total in NFL history, notes Frank. “Everything doesn’t have to fall on Carson’s shoulders and I think sometimes a little bit last year he felt that way and things had to fall his way a little bit to make a play and I don’t think we have to do that this year,” said Pederson.
Redskins safety DeAngelo Hall agreed to a pay cut last month, but he’ll still enter training camp in danger of losing his roster spot, suggests Rich Tandler of CSN Mid-Atlantic. A couple of other veteran safeties, Will Blackmon and Josh Evans, are also on the bubble, per Tandler. Injuries limited Hall to just 17 games over the previous three seasons, including a mere three in 2016. Conversely, staying healthy hasn’t been a problem for the 32-year-old Blackmon, who has made 30 of 32 appearances and logged 16 starts since joining the Redskins prior to 2015. Evans, a regular for the Jaguars from 2013-15, was on and off Washington’s roster last year and only played two games.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Cowboys, Giants

March 1st, 2017 at 9:00pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Eagles are entering free agency in need of help at wide receiver. Fortunately for them, “several” unsigned wideouts regard the idea of playing with Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz as intriguing, according to Tim McManus of ESPN.com. Unsurprisingly, one of those players is the Redskins’ DeSean Jackson, who has made it clear he’d be open to returning to Philadelphia, where he starred from 2008-13. “Carson Wentz, he came in and had a heck of the year as a rookie. I don’t think a lot of people saw that coming,” Jackson told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The 30-year-old added that Wentz “has all the intangibles in being a big-time quarterback in this league.”

NFC Notes: 49ers, Eagles, Seahawks, Cowboys

January 24th, 2017 at 8:27pm CST by Ben Levine

49ers fans have been waiting for the better part of a month for the organization to hire their next head coach and general manager. The team will seemingly have to wait at least another two weeks to hire frontrunner Kyle Shanahan from the Falcons, and they may be waiting a bit longer to bring in a new general manager.

On Tuesday, CEO Jed York preached patience when it comes to the team’s hirings.

“The message is we’re going to re-establish a championship culture,” York said (via Cam Inman of The Mercury News). “We’re not going to do that by filling a job quickly. We need to be patient. We need to be willing to wait.

“And when we get the right people, we’ll start putting everything into place.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFC…

Last offseason, the Eagles dealt with some turmoil when quarterback Sam Bradford was upset following the team’s draft selection of Carson Wentz. This offseason, the front office is hoping to be completely transparent with their franchise signal-caller. “The way the league rules are, you’d love to be able to bring him down and throw to these guys,” said vice president of football operations Howie Roseman (via Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com). “That would be unbelievable. It just doesn’t work that way. But from our perspective, we want to make sure that he’s on board with some of these things, and he’s looking at some … probably more in free agency than in the draft, because it’s hard for him to get caught up on the draft prospects.”
The Eagles traded former second-round pick Eric Rowe to the Patriots earlier this season, and the cornerback proceeded to start seven games for the AFC champs. Roseman provided some logic for cutting bait on the promising defensive back. “When we sat down and discussed the offer, we really started thinking about the likelihood that we had to sign him to an extension,” Roseman said (via Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com).“We want to build this team with some continuity. We felt at that time that we were not going to sign him to an extension and to be able to get that value for him and possibly add someone who would be here for a longer period of time made sense for where we were. ” Rowe’s contract expires following the 2018 season.
Perrish Cox‘s new one-year contract with the Seahawks is worth $855K, reports ESPN.com’s Sheil Kapadia. The cornerback’s initial cap hit is $680K, and he’ll earn $443K if he suffers an injury prior to the start of the regular season.
Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones said his team would like to keep free agent wideouts Terrance Williams and Brice Butler (via Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News on Twitter). Williams had one of his least-productive seasons in 2016, but he still finished the campaign with 44 receptions for 594 yards and four touchdowns. Butler, a former seventh-round pick, finished the season with 16 receptions for 219 yards and three touchdowns.
Jones also passed along that Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence will need back surgery for the second straight offseason (via George on Twitter). The former second-round pick has only played in 32 games over his three seasons in the NFL, including nine games (three starts) in 2016.

Veteran Browns Scouts Preferred Wentz

September 18th, 2016 at 10:21am CST by Rory Parks

Only one full week of the 2016 season is in the books, but Browns fans, eminently familiar with pain and suffering, are already finding more evidence to prove that their team is cursed. Cleveland, of course, passed on the chance to draft Carson Wentz with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, instead choosing to trade the selection and to roll with Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown under center. But Wentz excelled in his professional debut against the Browns last week and RGIII found himself on IR again, so it is easy to understand the frustrations coming from the Dawg Pound.

But that may not be the worst of it. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Browns parted with several of their more seasoned scouts and evaluators prior to the draft–an usual time for such dismissals–and a number of those men actually preferred Wentz to Jared Goff and considered the North Dakota State product to be the more promising prospect. Of course, chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, along with head coach Hue Jackson and OC Pep Hamilton, preferred Goff, and at the time the pro-Wentz scouts were dismissed, the club was already shopping its second-overall pick to other teams, since it became clear that the Rams were going to use the No. 1 overall pick on Goff.

It is not uncommon, of course, for there to be disagreement among a team’s talent evaluators, and the fact that some Cleveland scouts preferred Wentz would not ordinarily be newsworthy. But the fact that a pro-Wentz group that included former general managers and personnel directors was let go at such a strange time–even if they were going to be dismissed anyway during the team’s efforts to downsize later on in 2016–is only going to add fuel to the fire of the organization’s detractors.

If the Browns again find themselves near the top of the draft board in 2017, La Canfora believes they will almost have to take a quarterback, with Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson currently heading the list of signal-callers expected to be available.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NFC Notes: Wentz, Johnson, Palmer, Giants

September 17th, 2016 at 9:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Further illustrating the Eagles‘ belief in Carson Wentz and their motivation to make the seminal trade with the Browns in April, new Philadelphia OC Frank Reich offered some high-end comparisons for the No. 2 overall pick.

“Physically, he reminds me a little bit of a combination of Andrew Luck — though, I’ve never played with him — just watching him play, but a guy that I did play with in Jim Kelly, the size, strength and just the toughness,” Reich said, via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com.

Wentz ran a tenth of a second slower in the 40-yard dash compared to Luck coming out of college (4.77 seconds to 4.67), but the quarterbacks are similar in size — both 6-foot-5 and around 235 pounds. The younger player will attempt to build on his breakthrough debut, one executed despite scant preseason reps and the anticipation he’d be the third-string passer.

Here’s more on Wentz’s potential rise and on some other NFC teams.

The Eagles trading Sam Bradford to the Vikings opened the door not only for Wentz to receive an early start on Sundays, but it cleared a path toward endless practice reps instead of a short-term future as Philly’s third-stringer, Jeff McLane of Philly.com writes. Reich told media, including McLane, there was “no question” the additional practice work would accelerate Wentz’s development compared to a season spent behind Bradford and Chase Daniel. Per McLane, Wentz did not speak up much in quarterback meetings while he was the No. 3 quarterback, instead deferring to the veterans. Daniel functions as the scout-team quarterback, and the meetings are geared around a Wentz-conducted offense.
Doug Pederson expected to hear something on Lane Johnson‘s lingering suspension by now, Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com notes, but the league has yet to announce the expected 10-game ban. “You would think you would have heard something by now,” Pederson said. “If it does happen down the road, it just pushes everything back. Me personally, I’d rather know now than later. But until then, [Johnson] is the guy.” Pederson said Stefen Wisniewski would play left guard after current starter Allen Barbre swings to right tackle in the event Johnson’s ruling comes down. Wisniewski usurped Isaac Seumalo as the next guard up since the Eagles initially announced their Johnson contingency plan.
Earlier today, a potential Panthers plot to select Blaine Gabbert No. 1 overall emerged in advance of Sunday’s Panthers-49ers game. The Buccaneers‘ Week 2 opponent, the Cardinals, also employ a quarterback who will face a team that pursued him years ago. The Bucs attempted to trade for Palmer in 2013, but refusing to push then-starter Josh Freeman to a backup role did not make it an enticing fit for the then-Raiders quarterback as he looked for a team and a long-term deal, Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times writes, analyzing what could have been in advance of Sunday’s tilt. The Bucs joined the Cardinals and Bills in making a push for a then-33-year-old Palmer’s services. Then-Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano wasn’t enamored with Freeman, but the organization did not want to give up on the former first-round pick by automatically making Palmer a starter. Freeman lasted just three games into the ’13 season before being released.
The Giants worked out four linebackers on Saturday after cutting Deontae Skinner from their practice squad. Cassanova McKinzy, Deiontrez Mount, Eric Pinkins and Myke Tavarres worked out for the team, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.

Browns Notes: RG3, McCown, Thomas, West

September 15th, 2016 at 9:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Robert Griffin III‘s shoulder injury serves as a significant detriment to his hopes at resurrecting his once-promising career, some with the Browns don’t view it as too damaging to their current team. With Hue Jackson focused on reprogramming Griffin into an above-average quarterback, some Browns staffers view the injury as something that can help the franchise move on and begin assessing its future at the position, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com report.

Browns sources told the veteran reporters third-round pick Cody Kessler is “not close” to being ready to debut, and expectations for the USC product aren’t particularly high. So, as 37-year-old Josh McCown prepares to return to the starting lineup, the team will continue to scout for its future. Should Kessler make a start this season, he’ll be the franchise’s 26th starting quarterback since its 1999 rebirth. That total leads the league.

Interestingly, the new regime’s last such scouting job revealed a dislike for two of the league’s hot-starting passers, Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott, while Cleveland’s new decision-makers liked Griffin, Kessler and Jared Goff, per Schefter and Mortensen.

Here’s more from Cleveland as its football team prepares to play the old Browns in Week 2.

McCown offered a reasonable plea, per Schefter and Mortensen, against the notion the Browns should tank for 2017 this season. The veteran quarterback and second-year Brown believed the team owed it to veterans like Joe Thomas to make a legitimate effort to compete in 2016.
Thomas, meanwhile, did not push the Browns to trade him to the Broncos last season due to the loyalty they showed him since making him the No. 3 overall pick in 2007, the ESPN duo reports. The six-time All-Pro’s name could well resurface on the trade block this season if the Browns perform as they’re expected to, especially since so few veterans are going to play for them this season.
Speaking of trades, former Browns running back Terrance West asked the team to be traded before last season, West said on the BmoreOpinionated podcast (via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal). The Browns’ previous regime did end up trading West to the Titans, although it’s not known if it came as a result of the running back’s request. The current Ravens ball-carrier believes he’d still be with the Browns if he hadn’t asked to be dealt. “I think if I didn’t call for a trade, I would be still in Cleveland right now,” West said. “I was the leading rusher that year. I was the leading rusher in that preseason. I called for a trade. I didn’t think that was home for me.” West, though, saw the Titans cut him after he made only 16 rushing attempts last season. Ulrich writes attitude problems and shaky practice habits marred the former third-round pick’s time in Cleveland. He’s set to play a bigger role this season, as evidenced by the Ravens giving him 14 touches in Week 1. West rushed for 673 yards as a rookie to lead the Browns as a rookie in 2014, ahead of current starter Isaiah Crowell‘s 607.
While Jackson’s initial effort in northeast Ohio isn’t expected to go well, the first-year coach made some bold proclamations about the franchise’s future.

Eagles Notes: Johnson, Wentz, Fullbacks

September 10th, 2016 at 4:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles are entering their Week 1 matchup with the Browns in an interesting position on their offensive line. Since the NFL has yet to announce the expected suspension for Lane Johnson, the team shelved a plan that included an alternate route at right tackle and will instead start Johnson on Sunday, Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

“Getting ready to play, man,” Johnson told media after Friday’s practice. “I didn’t think this day would come. This has been the biggest mental hurdle of my career.”

Johnson faces a 10-game suspension after his A sample tested positive for a banned substance. The delay for the league appears to stem from the results of his B sample not being retrieved. The fourth-year tackle intends to appeal any suspension, and with that process taking as many as several weeks, he may be available longer than expected this season. However, the loss of an appeal could sideline Johnson during more second-half games than anticipated since the ban won’t be starting Week 1 as he anticipated.

Here’s the latest coming out of Philly.

Hours before the Eagles’ third preseason game, wide receiver Jordan Matthews told Howie Roseman that Carson Wentz was ready to see play now instead of being a quarterback-in-waiting, Zach Berman of the Inquirer reports. The rookie was then relegated to personal throwing sessions while recovering from injury, and while the third-year pass-catcher’s statement probably wouldn’t have proved as significant for the purposes of Week 1 had Teddy Bridgewater not gone down, the comment looks somewhat prescient now that Wentz is the starter and Sam Bradford‘s in Minnesota.
Some in the Eagles’ organization are surprised by the Browns’ comments regarding Wentz, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Paul DePodesta recently revealed the Browns’ brass did not consider the North Dakota State product a potential top-20 NFL quarterback, and young defenders Carl Nassib and Ibraheim Campbell respectively called Wentz’s delivery and inexperience into question this week after it became known he would start the season for the Eagles. Wentz had read DePodesta’s comments before he was named the Eagles’ starter, Cabot writes.
It doesn’t look like Doug Pederson‘s offense will be housing a pure fullback for a while, Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com writes. The team cut potential options Ryan Mueller and Chris Pantale. Many teams obviously go without pure fullbacks in today’s NFL, but the Andy Reid– and Pederson-run Chiefs employed one in Anthony Sherman during the three seasons that duo coordinated Kansas City’s attack. The Eagles have Andrew Bonnet on their practice squad and could use third tight end Trey Burton there, per new OC Frank Reich.
Earlier today, former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook said some Philadelphia veterans aren’t on board with the Bradford trade.

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