Getty Brandon Graham sees a breakout year for former first-round pick Derek Barnett.
Carson Wentz refused to admit revenge was on his mind when talking about facing the Philadelphia Eagles. He had no animosity toward the franchise that drafted him and groomed him, then set him free like a Lynyrd Skynyrd song.
Wentz is treating the Commanders-Eagles game in Week 3 as just another one. He spoke only of good memories and a lot of fun during his five-year run in Philly. That’s one sideline. Up the I-95 corridor, there are some players in the Eagles locker room walking in with something to prove.
According to Brandon Graham, some guys had this game “circled” on the schedule. Revenge? Partly. Wentz kind of gave up on the team after he was benched for Jalen Hurts in 2020.
“This situation is totally different with him the way it ended, being here with how things went,” Graham told reporters. “I just feel like, you know, some guys just had his game circled if he ever played us again. So, it’s the first time I’ve seen him since he’s been gone. So, you know, we gonna do what we gotta do.”
Jason Peters on Wentz:
“He was just in Philadelphia. It’s a hard city to play for. You gotta bring it every year or philly will eat you up”
Brandon Graham on Wentz:
“Philly is a tough place to play, and so when things weren’t going right, I know it was tough on him”
#Eagles
It’s probably more out of a sense of pride in what Wentz refused to be a part of after he let reported hurt feelings get in the way. He could have come into training camp and competed for the starting job with Hurts, but he didn’t want to do that. Instead, Wentz requested a trade out of town and created an uncomfortable situation.
“You know what? I’m happy to be able to get to play him because it’ll be something we can talk about later on in our career after whoever wins this game, however it goes,” Graham said. “But we see him twice, and that’s a good thing for us and him. Because he got two opportunities to do his thing against us and we got two to do our thing against him.”
The mic’d up of Brandon Graham telling Carson Wentz he’s coming for him is gonna be gold
Fletcher Cox Still Talks to Wentz, No Hard Feelings
Fletcher Cox revealed that he chatted with Wentz the other day and makes it a point to keep in touch with his one-time franchise quarterback. Why not? The Eagles don’t win the Super Bowl without Wentz steering the ship for 13 games in 2017.
“We loved Carson while he was here,” Cox said. “I still talk to him, actually I talked to him yesterday. Ain’t nothing changed.”
Not even Wentz’s unique skillset: great arm strength, slippery mobility, and a flair for the dramatic has changed. Cox sees that same quarterback in Washington, with all the same traits he witnessed every day at practice for five seasons.
“The thing about Carson is he’s still got the arm talent,” Cox said. “He’s still making throws down the field, making guys miss. Again, he’s till slippery when it comes to ducking blocks and making guys miss so I think the biggest thing for us is to just focus on our gameplan.”
And focus on Wentz’s explosive weapons and offensive line. They are putting points on the board to the tune of 27.5 per game.
“Not just focus so much on Carson because they got an elite group of skills guys,” Cox said. “I think they’re pretty good upfront, so it’s going to come down to who want it the most.”
Darius Slay Addresses Winning NFC Award
Darius Slay was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after a two-interception night against Minnesota. It marked his fifth such weekly award – two with Philadelphia, another three with Detroit. Is winning those things getting old? Nah, especially not when Jamel Dean was balling out for Tampa Bay.
Slay mentioned Dean’s big day while acknowledging how thankful he was for the honor.
“It’s hard to be Defensive Player of the Week,” Slay said. “There’ a lot of great DBs over here, lotta great ball being played, Dean could have won it the other day. He had two picks, too, so a lotta guys could have won it. For me to win it, it’s always a pleasure, I’m always thankful. I appreciate it. But I went out there and worked pretty hard for that.”