Getty Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz
Everyone wants to know what is wrong with Carson Wentz. He’s pressing. He’s scared. He’s injured?
Wentz missed the last week of training camp due to “groin tightness,” a minor lower-body strain that wasn’t expected to impact his play on the field. The Eagles quarterback told reporters he was “feeling great” and had put the injury “behind me” as he prepared for Week 1.
Head coach Doug Pederson doubled down on that diagnosis by saying the team was just being extra cautious with Wentz and he would have sat out the final week whether he was injured or not. All systems go in Philadelphia, right?
Maybe not. Wentz looked tight on every one of his scrambles in Week 3, including a lumbering 24-yard run for a first down. He was able to escape and pick up some big gains — nine rushes for 65 yards (7.2 yards-per-touch) and a touchdown — but it wasn’t always fluid. It wasn’t the fleet-footed Wentz from 2017. Pro Football Focus analyst Steve Palazzolo suggested that Wentz might be “playing injured” this year and compared his struggles to Andrew Luck in 2015.
I think Carson Wentz’s struggles most closely resemble Andrew Luck’s 2015 season.
Luck was supposedly playing injured, and his accuracy and decision-making was atrocious early in the year.
Wentz is just as off in all areas. Luck bounced back (kinda), but missed time that year
The former Colts quarterback suffered a shoulder injury in Week 3 that year and missed two weeks before returning. A month later, Luck incurred a lacerated kidney and a partially torn ab muscle that shut him down for good after seven regular-season games. Brutal. The four-time Pro Bowler eventually retired from the NFL in 2018 after enduring several more unfortunate and serious injuries.
“I’m not going to allow that to happen,” Luck told Business Insider about not feeling good before retiring. “It’s something, again — 2016. I still have some emotional scars from that and that lives with me still, but I’m trying to use it in a positive way certainly for myself.”
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Wentz’s Six Interceptions Tied for NFL Worst
The calls to bench Wentz in Philly are booming, louder and louder by the day. The Eagles insist that would be a “knee-jerk reaction” and refused to do it, although their fan base has slowly started clamoring for rookie Jalen Hurts.
But what if Wentz is really hurt? He looks broken, a lost quarterback who can’t complete “layup” throws or process information. It’s out of character and alarming.
“I’ll have to watch the tape,” Wentz said after throwing two more interceptions on Sunday. “Honestly, you go through a game and you make poor decisions, you make great decisions, you make some good throws, you miss some throws.”
Carson Wentz is going OFF this season 🔥🔥🔥
6 interceptions 🤑🤑
58% completion percentage 😱
Worst passing grade in NFL 💯💯
Sacked 11 times 🙌🙌🙌
Hasn’t won a game 😈😈
Let’s be honest, Wentz isn’t this bad. Prior to 2020, the most interceptions he had ever thrown in a single 16-game season was seven. He already has six picks through three games, tied for the worst mark in the NFL.
Injury History/Timeline for Eagles QB
Wentz’s injury history and timeline have been well-documented but let’s lay it out one more time, per Sports Injury Predictor. The website put his chances of getting hurt in 2020 at 83-percent:
- Jan 5, 2020: Head Cranial Concussion Grade 1 — Carson suffered a concussion in the team’s wild-card playoff loss to Seattle in the first quarter.
- Oct 11, 2018: Back Vertebral Fracture — Exact date of injury unknown. Wentz’s back trouble dates back to October. He missed the final three games but avoided surgery.
- Dec 10, 2017: Knee ACL Tear Grade 3 — Wentz departed in the second quarter with a torn ACL He returned for Week 3 of the 2018 season.
- Dec 10, 2017: Knee LCL Tear Grade 3 — Wentz departed in the second quarter with a torn LCL. He returned for Week 3 of the 2018 season.
- Aug 11, 2016: Chest Rib Fracture — Wentz suffered a hairline fracture in his ribs against Tampa Bay (preseason game).
In addition, Wentz also broke a bone in his throwing wrist that required surgery on Oct. 17, 2015, while he was in college at North Dakota State.
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