terse
release announced that they had released
a Carson Wentz which really is no surprise.
They basically have been telling people that Sam Howell
their draft choice from last year.
The quarterback was going to be the incumbent entering training
camp and that's certainly how new offensive coordinator Eric.
Be enemy
has been progressing.
As he begins his new job in Washington, but
to me miles,
I want to discuss Carson Wentz for a moment and I want to
basically talk about how in my opinion. This
is one of the great ruined careers.
In recent NFL history.
So let's just go back.
You know, every year when I go to the scouting combine
I attempt to do a column coming out of the combine
on either, you know, the top pick in the draft or
a player who is fascinating to me.
And so in 2016,
I remember there was a lot of Buzz at the scouting combine.
About this fairly unknown quarterback because he played
in division one day a,
you know, the
whatever that used to be called one day, a whatever it is now
FCS FBS, I forget what all those things are called. But so
you went to North Dakota State
and I remember I staked him out
because I don't think he had to do is 15-minute media period
and I don't think he wanted to do anything else but I staked
him out staked him out and finally found him just before
he was going to leave Indianapolis
and I got I don't know, 10 to 15 minutes with him,
he had his bag packed. He was ready to
go into the van to the airport
and I will just never forget my conversation with him because
one of the most interesting things in that conversation
was I asked him about something that I had read.
Ed
and I said, Carson is it true that I sound like Perry Mason
or Colombo here
you know Carson Wentz is it? True? I said Is it true that
in your 16 years of education,
grades 1 through 12
in North Dakota growing up in North Dakota and then four
years at North Dakota state that you never got a grade
below a day.
And he was pretty sheepish about it, but he said, yes.
I never got to be in my life
and so this guy was in so many ways
precocious.
And so obviously, the Philadelphia Eagles traded
a boatload of stuff to move up to get him in the draft, pick
them, and we all recall in 2017,
Carson Wentz was 11 and 2 in the Eagles, first 13 games,
But in that 13th game
he suffered a torn ACL on a scramble
toward the end zone.
I think of the LA Coliseum, sure was mistaken. Yep that was
at that game. Yeah. Okay and so he's hurt he's out for
the year. Nick Foles comes in
and now there's a statue
of Nick Foles
outside of Lincoln Financial Field
and I'm going to tell you a couple of things that over
the last Two or three years
that I've learned. I've learned number one
that Carson Wentz, quite literally thinks that that
should be a statue of him
that if he had remained healthy that year
that he was going to be the one to lead the Philadelphia Eagles
to the promised land, he would be the guy who would be forever
immortalized in Philadelphia. But instead,
it was just this happenstance guy, Nick Foles
who stepped in And played. Fantastic, and scored 41 points
on the great Belichick in the Super Bowl, and have the great
shootout win against Tom. Brady.
So all of that played on Carson, Wentz, and as time went
on in Philadelphia, he essentially let everything get
to him. He led the fact that he got hurt that year and was you
know, had his Super Bowl chance taken
away. From him, he didn't play, he played well the next year,
he didn't play great but he played well the next year
and he played well the following year.
But then in 2020
when the Philadelphia Eagles decided that they were going to
draft Jalen hurts in the second round that really messed with
his head and they didn't draft Jalen hurts to take over for
Carson Wentz even though that's what happened, they drafted
him.
For low-cost backup, quality, backup insurance, and yet,
that's the thing that ruined him. And now the last three
years
2020 and Philadelphia crummy year,
2021 and Indianapolis
good numbers in Indianapolis. But failed at the biggest times
down the stretch in Indianapolis
and the, you know, the Colts didn't make the playoffs. And
then obviously he was just a disaster
in Washington. Last year
miles, it's almost like we're seeing a car crash before our
very eyes
and now at age, 30,
Carson Wentz, if he chooses to continue to play and I'm sure
he will. He says he loves football,
will be on his fourth team in four years this year.
And I would think absolutely unequivocally only
as a backup quarterback.
Oh yeah, Peter, I
And I don't think that there's any chance that anybody would
even sign him to compete for a starting role. I mean, after
what we've seen over the last few years, I don't know that
there's any reason
to think that he is a starting caliber quarterback in the NFL.
And, you know, he did look like an MVP in the 2017 season and
I can see where
it would be hard to get over that,
but at the same time, if you're a competitor, you have to,
you know, and I look
That 20/20 season that he had with the Eagles. And I remember
he was tied for the league lead in being a number of times. He
was sacked and even even play in the last few weeks of
the Season, which tells you just how bad his pocket presence was
right.
I mean, sex are a lot of times. Yeah, we can say that there on
the offense of wine but many times they're also on
the quarterback and that has been part of what's been his problem
at least since 2020. So
yeah you look at it. But his career has come into now. And
you know, a couple of years ago, it looked like maybe one
or both of Jared Goff in Carson Wentz the top two picks of
the 2016 draft would not be
starters for much longer. All right, I mean especially after
2020 will go to happen with the Rams there but now when Jared
Goff looks like he's probably the answer with Detroit mean,
we're not really talking about them as being a part of this
quarterback conversation at all
and I will look at Carson Wentz and man it's been the last
three years. It's just gone down, down down, and it's going
to be interesting to see what he decides to do next Peter
with whatever he wants his career to be.
Yeah, you know what, I would say right now is
I think obviously he's,
he's blown away right now. He has to be blown away
with exactly what has happened to him in his career.
But I think what he needs to do
late in his career in Philadelphia,
he basically stopped taking coaching
from Doug Peterson
and I think he has to go. Go somewhere. Honestly,
I think he has to go somewhere
that has a really good head coach.
And I mean, I'll give you a place that if I were, if I were
him I don't even know if they have any interest but in my
opinion if I were him, I'd want to go to Denver
and I had to basically have Sean Payton day once today.
Absolutely unequivocally Russell. Soon, as our
quarterback, we're not going to have a competition for it. But
we think that there could be some great upside
and look best thing that could happen to them is
sign Carson, Wentz to a two-year deal and he plays
a little bit this year when he has to and they
make his career Reclamation project
and they trade them for a middle round draft pick,
you know, after the season.
But anyway, he needs to go somewhere.
Forget about playing.
Playing football. He needs to go somewhere and learn
the position all over again. And really have greatness
reinforced him.
Yeah. And I think Denver could be a good place for that. And
I mean, the other part of that scenario, is if Russell Wilson,
doesn't end up being better under Sean Payton, right? And
then
L, Carson wins comes in there and you know, who knows, maybe
he does light it up, you know. It's the, he's with a new head
coach and
Head coach in the quarterback, they get it right for whatever
reason, that could be a solution in Denver potentially.
So, I mean, I think that would make sense as a spot
and maybe he will want to go to Kansas City. Be a backup to
Patrick Mahomes because another good spot, right? I mean that's
another place
where we know that you're going to learn quarterbacking, you
know, you're going to have any read, you know, you have met
Nagy. Who's done a good job with Patrick? My home is
historically so
that could be another interesting spot there where
You know, you if you're Kansas City, you still want a good
veteran, backup that you can comment that can come in and
you can trust look what Chad Henne did in that playoff
game against Jacksonville Jaguars to keep that team
afloat, while patch Palms, get his ankle work that so I mean,
that's another team that puts a premium on that position and so
who knows, maybe he's a fit there.