Regardless of your stance on the Wentz/Foles debate, the team hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Wentz returning this season.
As of right now, Foles will be under center for the Eagles come Sunday when they matchup against the Texans, but Pederson has made it clear that Wentz won’t be placed on season ending IR and will be considered week-to-week for the remainder of the year.
This comes as a bit of a surprise, mostly because Doug stated last week that Wentz’s back injury may take up to three months to fully heal.
When he was asked about the situation at his Monday press conference Pederson had this to say:
“Well, it’s a couple things. We got a little more information, and two, this is probably why I don’t like to put timetables or put players in boxes. So, things have changed just a little bit. Obviously when he’s healthy, he’s our quarterback and we’ll go from there.”
So it’s clear that Wentz is still recovering from his injury. But according to Doug, this new information that the medical team has gathered about Wentz’s back is positive. “Yeah, it is positive,” said Doug in regards to the new information. “We continue to gather information like we do on all our athletes and all our players. The information if favorable and it’s something that was positive for him, positive for us.”
Whatever this “new information” is, it seems to suggest that Wentz’s injury may not be as severe as we initially thought. But is it really worth rushing Wentz back out there? Especially after a game where we saw his backup beat one of the top two teams in the conference?
For me, I think the best thing for Wentz and the future of the franchise is for him to sit the rest of the season to ensure he’s fully healthy and ready to go next fall.
Wentz has struggled to capture the same magic that made his 2017 season so special. There are a few reasons for his regression. Obviously, coming back to play not even a full calendar year after suffering his torn ACL/LCL hasn’t helped. And as much as I hate to say it, I think Foles winning the Super Bowl has had a real effect on Wentz’s play this season. He always seems like he’s pressing and trying to make THE play, even if it’s not the smart play to make in that situation.
Wentz is still a young man at 25 years old, and as much as he’s insisted that he loved watching his team win it all last year without him, I can’t imagine it hasn’t been in the back of his mind. And I’m sure the way this season has unfolded, even if it’s not all on Wentz, hasn’t helped with that.
Let’s say Foles is able to pull off another upset this week against the Texans and somehow manages to sneak us into the playoffs. Why throw Wentz back in at that point? I say you ride the hot hand and see if you can make another Super Bowl run. Just because Doug choses to ride Foles for the rest of the season wouldn’t mean that Wentz’s career in Philly is over, not even in the slightest. It just means that at this point in the year, Foles gives the Eagles a better chance to win.
It’s hard to deny Foles’ impact on the offense. He’s a point guard at the quarterback position; he distributes the ball to whoever is open and lets them go to work. Wentz has played more like an isolation scorer this season; he tends to try to make the ridiculous pass or scramble even when an easy pass is there to be made.
When fully healthy, Wentz has the physical tools to do everything that Foles does well and then some. Giving Wentz time to fully heal and have a full offseason to prepare for football rather than rehabbing his knee is the best thing for him at this point.
Something has been off with Wentz this season, and I don’t think throwing him back out there in a playoff situation would benefit anyone. If he went out and stunk up the joint, that would only hurt his mental psyche even more.
If the organization truly believes that Wentz is their future, then don’t risk putting him back out there, it just wouldn’t make any sense to me.