Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles are entering the 2020 NFL season with high expectations. After stealing the NFC East division title at the end of the 2019 season from the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles were quickly dispatched in the playoffs in the Wild Card round of the playoffs by the Seattle Seahawks.
Unfortunately, once again, Wentz went down with an injury. He took a tough hit from Seahawks’ star Jadeveon Clowney and was forced to miss the rest of the game.
That has become a trend over the last few years. Wentz has been unable to stay healthy for the Eagles in the playoffs. Even when the Eagles won the Super Bowl a couple years ago, Nick Foles was the starting quarterback.
Now, the Eagles have made an interesting move. They decided to take Oklahoma star quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
With the decision to take Hurts, could Carson Wentz actually be facing the end of his tenure with the Eagles in the next couple of years?
At this point in time, Wentz has this season and next year under contract. There is a potential out after next season, but he still has the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons on his contract as well. But, if the Eagles chose to go a different direction, they could easily look to trade him.
During the 2019 season with the Eagles, Wentz ended up completing 63.9 percent of his pass attempts for 4,039 yards, 27 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Not bad numbers for any starting quarterback in the NFL.
However, there were some rumblings that teammates wanted the Eagles to keep Foles over Wentz. He isn’t known as a top-notch leader in the locker room. His inability to stay healthy when the playoffs arrive is also a major concern.
Hurts is an investment that the Eagles obviously plan to play at some point. You simply do not spend a second-round pick on a player that is going to be a career backup. Wentz is just 27 years old, which could signal that Philadelphia doesn’t believe he is their long-term guy.
Is Wentz facing the end of his tenure with the Eagles? The answer is likely, yes. If he is unable to stay healthy moving forward or struggles much, the Eagles are not going to hesitate to put Hurts on the field.
On the other hand, if Wentz stays healthy and plays well, the Eagles will keep him as their starter. Everything depends on what version of Wentz shows up over the next year or two.
The pressure is absolutely on Wentz to keep his job long-term. Philadelphia simply can’t afford to continue hoping that Wentz will lead them to a Super Bowl if he continues missing the biggest games of the year. Hurts was brought in as an option moving forward, not as an immediate replacement.
Expect to see Carson Wentz come out looking to prove a point this season. He still thinks he should be the long-term franchise quarterback for the Eagles, but it will all depend on whether or not he can take the Eagles on a postseason run while being the starter.
