The Philadelphia Eagles have already won the Carson Wentz trade.
It’s the uncertainty of things that makes the NFL game so doggone interesting. A little over five years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Carson Wentz out of a program that, had you asked most NFL fans what the team’s colors were, they wouldn’t have been able to tell you.
You see, before Wentz’s arrival, the most that the majority of the Birds fan base could tell you about Fargo was that it shared the name with a television show that aired on FX. Still, we were told that Carson would be great by everyone. He became one of the top two prospects at the position in 2016, and we believed it and bought in because that’s what fans sometimes do.
The word fan is short for fanaticism, and supporters of every team need something to believe in.
Sure, Wentz had his moments. He even got within an eyelash of possibly winning the NFL’s MVP Trophy once, but in the end, Philly would draft a project quarterback in Round 2 of 2020’s NFL Draft, Number 11 would lose his job, and then, and this is probably the most disappointing thing, Wentz decided that he didn’t want to compete to get his job back.
Carson Wentz was traded to the Indianapolis Colts on March 17th, a move that still draws the ire of some Eagles fans, but regardless of what side you are on, here’s the boldest of bold statements. The Philadelphia Eagles have already won in the deal. Do not adjust your television sets. No one cares if you disagree. Here are three reasons why that statement is accurate.
The Philadelphia Eagles will play harder for Jalen Hurts than they did for Wentz.
If you still haven’t figured out that the majority of this team wanted Jalen Hurts under center, it may be time to dust off those Wentz-colored glasses. You’ve been told most of this for six years now, and some of you still haven’t caught up with the rest of us, so let’s just pull out a few random facts that so many of you have chosen to ignore or have forgotten.
Does no one remember when those reports surfaced that there were guys in the locker room that thought Wentz was a bad teammate? How long are we going to ignore that there were anonymous sources, and burner accounts, and at least two of his wide receivers that had consciously made up their minds that they were out to get him?
Is there anyone that wants to talk about the fact that Duce Staley was irritated with the fact that he was coddled? Does anyone have any comments on the subject of Philly hiring an enabler as his quarterback coach because Press Taylor was his buddy? No? Does no one have anything on that?
Look, we’ve beaten this horse to death. The evidence has been overwhelming for years. This team wanted to play with Nick Foles. Then, they rallied around Jalen Hurts. Folks, Wentz’s Eagles teammates built a shrine to Nick Foles when he left. You didn’t really see them do that for Carson now, did you?
Some of you still haven’t figured this out, but maybe the 2021 season will serve as some evidence. Jalen Hurts is the guy that most of this franchise including their former head coach Doug Pederson wanted under center. Now, it’s up to Hurts to prove that he’s worthy of that confidence.
The new Philadelphia Eagles QB’s mindset is better than the last one’s.
Some guys are motivated by competition and being told that they can’t do something. Some guys thrive under adversity. Then, there are guys on the other end of the spectrum. They shrink under pressure. They collapse when things get tough. They need cheerleaders because once the detractors get in their heads it’s game over.
Muhammad Ali beat most of his opponents before he even got in the ring with them. Pressure does two things. It makes diamonds, or it bursts pipes. Ladies and gentlemen, Jalen Hurts is a diamond. Carson Wentz is a pipe. Jalen is the type of guy that plays with the big boys on the basketball court because he wants to get stronger and better. Carson is the guy that throws the basketball off of the court and stomps off in tears.
You’ve seen the mental makeup of both of these guys. Who do you want on your team as your quarterback?
Now, here’s what you need to understand. Wentz will probably get off to a faster start in Indy than Hurts will in Philly. Wentz has a better team. Wentz has a more experienced coach. The fan base will be much nicer to him now but forget about football for a second. Let’s say we were soldiers in a foxhole or some corporate guys at work. Let’s say a bad day came and adversity caught us off guard. Who do you want in that foxhole with you? Hurts or Wentz?
That, ladies and gentlemen, could wind up being the reason that Jalen Hurts winds up being the better quarterback in the long run, and if you don’t think that’s a valid argument, you really don’t understand football or the guys that play the game.
Carson Wentz will never eclipse what you saw with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Let’s talk about legacy for a second. How many of you have stopped to think about the fact that the new Philadelphia Eagles QB doesn’t need to do much to surpass the last one? Maybe you should if you haven’t.
In six NFL seasons at the helm as Philly’s starting signal-caller, Wentz crafted a record of 35-32-1. He has a sub-.500 record if you remove the ‘MVP season’ (24-30-1). He’s 0-1 in his lone playoff appearance, one he had to exit due to an unfortunate injury but also one that he was 1-4 in before his exit.
For years the argument has been that the rule of thumb is Carson has shown what he can do when he’s in the right situation. Maybe we should look at this the other way. Maybe 2017 was the exception to the rule and not the rule itself. Maybe 2017 was the mirage. Carson Wentz was never that good. Maybe, when it’s all said and done, he’ll be remembered like we remember Carson Palmer.
Here’s a statement that can’t be proven, but when you step back and take some time to think about it, you’ll realize that it makes sense. We’ve been driving ourselves into a frenzy because, in 2019, with Philly needing to win down the stretch to make the postseason, Wentz, after losing to a bad Miami Dolphins team, led the Birds to four straight victories over some pathetic squads.
He beat the New York Giants twice. He beat Washington. He won a 17-9 tussle over a bad Dallas Cowboys team. The Philadelphia Eagles would have never won Super Bowl LII if Carson Wentz was under center. Pressure… The big stage… The back and forth nature of that Super Bowl. What about Wentz makes you feel like he was ever ready for that moment or would have been victorious on that day?
If you’re worried about Jalen Hurts proving that he was the right choice, don’t be. It won’t take much for him to eclipse everything that Carson Wentz ever did in an Eagles jersey.
Look at what the Philadelphia Eagles got out of the deal.
So, here we are, and who would have thunk? Carson Wentz’s legacy with the Philadelphia Eagles is this. In 2016, he did some nice things. In 2017, he set the table for a better cook and server (Nick Foles). He got hurt in 2018, and the better cook led the Birds to within a few plays of getting back to a second-consecutive NFC Championship Game, one they could have won (they did have the L.A. Rams number).
Many of his teammates didn’t like him and did everything they could to run him out of town. As fans and members of the media, we crushed those teammates, but in the end, they may have had a point.
Carson Wentz never led this team to a Super Bowl. Heck, he never even won a playoff game, and during the 2021 NFL offseason, he probably assisted ownership in their decision to run the only coach who had ever led this team to a Vince Lombardi Trophy out of town. And, then he left anyway.
The debate lives on. Hang around some Philadelphia Eagles fans, and you’ll still hear stories and arguments about how good he was (or wasn’t), but the fact of the matter is this. Carson Wentz is gone. So is the drama that came with him, and the Birds got a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 conditional second-round pick out of the deal.
That second-rounder will probably wind up being a first-rounder, which will give the Eagles three first-round draft selections in 2022, so even if you are a little bitter, even if this Jalen Hurts thing doesn’t work out, Philly can still go get a franchise quarterback next season (or trade for one).
Things don’t always work out how we expect, but Philly came out on top this time. Trading Carson Wentz sets the Eagles up for success, and there isn’t a Birds fan in the Delaware Valley or anywhere else on Planet Earth that will complain about that.