NFL
Carson Wentz Just Suffered His Final Sack With the Eagles at the Hands of a Construction Crew
Writing professionally since 2015, Jack Dougherty spent six years as a sportswriter with publications such as GoPSUSports.com, the Centre Daily Times, and the Associated Press before joining Sportscasting in 2020. He covers the NBA, the NFL, and the world of golf extensively and has added expertise on any team located in or around his hometown of Philadelphia. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies. When Jack isn't writing about sports, he's watching them or playing them as he regularly heads to the gym for some pickup basketball or the golf course to hit the links. He's also an avid participant in the sports betting scene who worked at a casino sportsbook for a year and learned the ins and outs of the industry before bringing his expertise to Sportscasting with one excellent gambling recommendation after another.
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It’s been nearly five months since the Philadelphia Eagles traded Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts, and although the 2016 No. 2 overall pick has moved to a new team in a new city, a small piece of him still remained in the heart of South Philly.
The massive banner of Wentz in an Eagles uniform flying outside of Lincoln Financial Field hadn’t been touched as of mid-July. But on Monday, a construction crew ripped the banner away from its longtime home, getting rid of the last remnant of Wentz’s memory in the process.
Carson Wentz’s banner served as a painful reminder for Eagles fans
After Wentz was traded to the Colts earlier this offseason, Eagles fans were immediately ready to move on. The Philly faithful loved and supported Wentz as the team’s franchise quarterback for four seasons, but that all changed over the last year.
The fun-loving, electrifying QB who could send Eagles fans into a frenzy by making a big play out of nothing suddenly turned into a frightened turtle who jumped back into his shell at the first sign of adversity. He couldn’t hit wide receivers in stride anymore. He forgot how to navigate the pocket and sense pressure from his blind side.
And all the while, he took no accountability for his struggles on the field.
By the end of the season, Wentz had iced out his coaches and many of his teammates in the locker room. The benching in favor of Jalen Hurts seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Wentz’s career as an Eagle, and that proved to be true after the season wrapped up.
The Eagles started a new chapter when they traded their franchise quarterback away in February, but Wentz’s giant banner outside Lincoln Financial Field still served as a painful reminder of his failed tenure in Philadelphia all summer.
Wentz just suffered his final sack as an Eagle
For the last five months, Philadelphia fans driving past Lincoln Financial Field on I-95 were forced to stare at Wentz in an Eagles uniform with the captain patch on his chest. A symbol of what used to be — and what could’ve been.
But on Monday, the Eagles finally got rid of the last remaining piece of evidence that tied Wentz to the city of Philadelphia. A construction crew, with the help of a giant crane, finally stripped the banner from its place outside the stadium early in the morning as Philly natives cheered them on during their commutes to work.
The Wentz era in South Philadelphia is officially over.
Wentz hoping to raise a more important banner in Indianapolis
Wentz is still a Pro Bowl-caliber talent at the quarterback position. The gas may have run out for him in Philadelphia, but he admitted a change of scenery might be exactly what he needs to get his career back on track.
“I really feel like I have a new passion for the game,” Wentz said last month, via Jonathan X. Simmons of the Indianapolis Star. “I’ve been high, I’ve been injured, I’ve been, now, benched, I’ve been traded, I’ve kinda seen a lot in five years, so whatever the game throws at me I’m ready.”
The tearing down of Wentz’s banner outside Lincoln Financial Field shouldn’t distract fans from the fact that he was an integral part of raising a pretty important banner that still flies inside the Eagles’ stadium. Now, he’s hoping to do the same with his new team.
