Donovan McNabb sees Carson Wentz’s next two years as NFC Championship or bust

Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb views their current franchise quarterback situation as a critical one for Carson Wentz.

The 2019 NFL Season will undoubtedly go down as the most crucial year of Carson Wentz’s career. Mainly because he’s heading into a contract year, so at some point, he’s going to have to be extended. But the real question isn’t whether he’s good enough to receive an extension or not. It’s mainly because everybody wants to see if he can remain healthy for a full season and win playoff games.

Over the last two years, Wentz has struggled to stay healthy. In 2017, his MVP campaign was derailed due to a torn ACL, which kept him out for the remainder of the year, plus the extended postseason run. Then, the following year Wentz made his way back onto the field during Week Three until eventually leaving once again with three games left on the year, due to a stress fracture in his back. Although Wentz wasn’t in MVP form, he was still putting up some solid numbers. But at the end of the day, he wasn’t available when they needed him the most.

Availability is critical for a franchise quarterback. The Eagles were fortunate enough to have a reliable backup quarterback in the past, but they don’t have that same luxury anymore. It’s all about Carson Wentz at this point, and now it’s time for him to prove that he can do what Nick Foles accomplished in the postseason back in 2017. How much time does Wentz have before it’s too late though? Former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb weighed in on the situation.

McNabb believes Wentz should be on a short leash

"“I think in the next . . . two years or so he has to find a way to get . . .  out of the second round of the playoffs,” Donovan McNabb told Zach Gelb of CBS Sports Radio. McNabb said that, if Wentz doesn’t do that, the Eagles should consider their options at the position, pointing out that the success of Nick Foles “proves . . . that some people can get into that offense and be very successful.”"

According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, McNabb believes that Wentz has two years (final contract year, plus a fifth-year option) to prove that he can not only stay healthy for 16 games – but also show that he can bring the team to the playoffs and win at least one of two postseason games. Getting the team to the playoffs isn’t the hard part for Wentz.

After all, when Foles took over in 2017, he was gifted a team that was already crowned division champs and in the first seed of the conference. Wentz just wasn’t available to finish it all off. In McNabb’s eyes, if Wentz can’t get out of the second round of the playoffs within the next two seasons, then he believes the hunt for a brand new franchise quarterback should begin.