Around this time in 2016, Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz made his NFL Preseason debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Wednesday evening, the Philadelphia Eagles arrived in Jacksonville, Florida as they prepare for the second week of the NFL Preseason. While most of the 90-man roster made the trip, not everybody will suit up and play. And just because guys won’t play, doesn’t mean they are injured.
This preseason, Eagles’ head coach Doug Pederson has a tough decision to make. He has to decide if and when his starters will play — specifically quarterback, Carson Wentz. The last time Wentz appeared on the field for a game setting was back in December of 2018.
Some believe Wentz won’t play at all in the preseason to avoid injuries in a meaningless matchup. Others think it’s a must that Wentz gets some real-time reps since he hasn’t played a football game in quite some time. Both sides have valid points here. However, as we re-visit Wentz’s rookie season, we can come to the conclusion that the need for preseason reps is a myth.
A trip down memory lane
It was a hot night in August. The Philadelphia Eagles were hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field. While the Eagles preseason attendance typically displays a good turnout for a game that means nothing, this specific matchup was different. For the first time in his career, Carson Wentz was going to debut for the Philadelphia Eagles.
At the time, Sam Bradford was still in the picture as the starter. Chase Daniel was behind him, and the second-overall pick from the 2016 NFL Draft was a third-string passer with a highly anticipated debut. Therefore, the crowd chanted his name from the opening kickoff until he got in.
Bradford started the Eagles offense off during the first drive, but wouldn’t see the field for the remainder of the night. His backup at the time, Chase Daniel came in and didn’t earn much fanfare from the fan base. Philadelphia tolerated a few drives by Daniel before the crowd grew restless.
“We want Wentz!” chants erupted in The Linc as Daniel was closing in on seven total offensive drives for the Eagles. Finally, Doug Pederson gave the people what they wanted and allowed Wentz to enter the game later on in the second quarter. While Wentz flashed some subtle skills, his rookie debut wasn’t all that impressive on the stat sheets
With a little over a half of a game’s worth of playing time, Wentz finished the night completing 12 out of 24 passes for 89 yards, and an interception. And unfortunately, his night and preseason would end early as something too familiar happened — Wentz got injured.
No preseason? No problem!
With a hairline fracture in his ribs caused by a monster hit he took when throwing the ball, the Eagles ruled Wentz out for the preseason. It seemed like they were ready to redshirt the rookie, and everybody would have to wait until 2017’s preseason before we saw him again.
That wasn’t the case. Three weeks later, the Eagles made a spontaneous trade to the Minnesota Vikings, which sent Sam Bradford over there. Being that Wentz barely played any preseason ball, it seemed as though the offense was going to be run by Chase Daniel.
Wrong again. Carson Wentz automatically jumped from third-string to first-string in a matter of minutes after Bradford got the news. At the time, the Eagles seemed crazy to start their rookie quarterback in the regular season with barley any preseason reps.
It turns out they were right by doing so, though. The Eagles got off to a hot start with a 3-0 record in the regular season — led by Carson Wentz who barely played any football at the professional level. Now, the four-year veteran’s 2019 preseason status is up in the air.
There wouldn’t be an issue if the Eagles decided to play Wentz in the preseason. However, if he doesn’t, it shouldn’t be flagged as a big deal either. Wentz and Pederson have been down this road before. Preseason reps can help, but they won’t make much of a difference. Wentz has been down this road before. If anything, the camp reps mean much more than the handful of drives in preseason.