Carson Wentz and His Hopeless Fragility Continue to Haunt the Eagles Months After Being Traded
When the Philadelphia Eagles traded Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts in February, they figured he couldn’t hurt the team or the city any more than he already has.
Well, so much for that.
In just his first week of training camp with the Colts, Wentz planted awkwardly during a throw and injured his foot in the process. It’s possible he’ll need surgery to repair the foot, which would put his 2021 season in jeopardy and likely cost the Eagles a first-round draft pick.
Carson Wentz’s fragility strikes again
Wentz has long been considered one of the more talented quarterbacks in the NFL when everything’s clicking, but he’s had issues staying on the field throughout his career.
Back when he was still playing in college at North Dakota State, Wentz broke a bone in his throwing wrist and missed the rest of the 2015 regular season. In 2017, he tore his ACL and LCL diving for the end zone during a scramble against the Los Angeles Rams. He missed the rest of the season and didn’t return until Week 3 the following year.
A few months later, the QB suffered a vertebral fracture in his back and missed the last three games of the 2018 regular season. Wentz was able to play a full season in 2019, but he left the Eagles’ playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks after suffering a concussion and didn’t return.
The Colts traded for Wentz earlier this year hoping his injury issues were behind him, but that was quickly proven wrong. During a training camp practice last Thursday, Wentz planted awkwardly during a roll-out throw and felt a “twinge in his foot.” The Colts later announced that their new starting quarterback is out indefinitely, but they don’t expect the injury to be season-ending.
Wentz still haunting the Eagles months after being traded
Wentz’s injury hurts Indianapolis first and foremost, but the ripple effects will also be felt 600 miles away in Philadelphia.
Remember, the Eagles received a conditional 2022 second-round draft pick from the Colts in return for Wentz. That crucial pick will turn into a first-rounder if Wentz plays 75% of the team’s snaps this season or if he plays 70% of the snaps and the Colts make the playoffs.
The Eagles could possibly have three first-round picks in next year’s NFL draft. But if Wentz misses just six games this season due to his recent foot injury, that number will drop to two.
Somehow, Wentz is still haunting the Eagles and the entire city of Philadelphia five months after being traded.
How much time is Wentz expected to miss?
We still don’t know everything there is to know about Wentz’s foot injury. The Colts went the safe route by labeling him out indefinitely instead of providing a timeline for return, and they haven’t revealed the specific injury yet.
Wentz recently visited Dr. Robert Anderson, the NFL’s top foot specialist, to determine the severity of the injury and his options moving forward. After that consultation, Michael Silver of Sports Illustrated reported Wentz’s foot injury “involves a bone in a ligament,” and that’s still the most detailed report we’ve seen.
On Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network explained in a tweet that Wentz plans on resting and rehabbing the injury instead of having immediate surgery. That would put a Week 1 return in play for the QB.
But if the injured foot can’t heal on its own, surgery will most likely be the only option, which would all but lock the Eagles’ conditional draft pick into a second-rounder.
Philadelphia fans have spent the last few years hoping and praying for a swift Wentz recovery, and that still hasn’t changed.
