There is a slight possibility that Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz could be back on the football field sometime this month. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported Sunday morning that Wentz’s return will happen sooner than later and Week 3 is a realistic option for his season debut.
Last week, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Wentz isn’t expected to play for a few more weeks. If Wentz was to make his debut in Week 3, it would come at home against the Indianapolis Colts.
However, the third-year quarterback still has not been cleared yet for contact, despite participating in 11-on-11 drills. Wentz suffered a significant knee injury late last season against the Los Angeles Rams, tearing both his ACL and LCL.
The former second overall pick was having an MVP caliber season before it came to an end in early December. In 13 games, Wentz completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 3,296 yards, 33 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Since Wentz has been on the shelf for an extended period of time, veteran quarterback Nick Foles has been the guy under center for the Eagles.
After an amazing playoff run and helping the Eagles win Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots, Foles was named the team’s starting quarterback for their Week 1 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
Against Atlanta, Foles did not look crisp to start but improved in the second half to help secure a tight 18-12 victory. The reigning Super Bowl MVP completed 55.8 percent of his passes for 117 yards and an interception.
In regards to Wentz, however, if the Eagles do hypothetically decide to bring him back, he would only be nine months removed from his season-ending knee injury. It usually takes about a year for a player to fully recover from a torn ACL.
Late last month, Dr. Jim Bradley, who repaired Wentz’s ACL and LCL told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark that the Eagles should take a safe approach with the quarterback.
“It should be a cautious approach,” Bradley said. “What’s a few games over 12 to 15 years?”
Wentz’s doctor made a great point, which can be applied to this latest report. Is it really worth possibly bringing him back a couple of weeks from now? Or do the Eagles wait until he is officially 100 percent and keep out until October or later?
These are the questions that the Eagles medical staff and head coach Doug Pederson must answer in the near future. Nevertheless, it should be interesting to see how this ultimately plays out with Wentz.
While everybody knows he wants to get back on the field, the Eagles need to take care of their franchise quarterback. If Foles can play like he did in the second half against the Falcons and improve throughout the next few games, then there should be no rush to bring Wentz back.
