It Hurts a Little? Why Carson Wentz Doesn’t Feel How You Think About the Hurts Selection
It’s a casual autumn day in Bismark, North Dakota. October 17, 2015, to be exact.
The reigning FCS champions North Dakota State Bison looked to continue their dominance this time against the South Dakota Coyotes.
We’re only a few possessions into a 7-0 ball game. It’s a 3rd and 12 from the Bison 42; Wentz is lined up in an empty set. He takes the snap but is forced to roll right after pressure ensues up the middle. Wentz takes a deep shot downfield to R.J. Urzendowski that falls incomplete. North Dakota State is forced to punt.
Photo: FCS Football
There wasn’t a person in the Fargo Dome that had identified the significance of what had taken place. What had looked as if it was an ordinary play for the North Dakota State Bison, turned out to be not just a game-changer, but something that altered the course of the entire season. “I think the guy kind of just pushed me a little while I was releasing it, nothing major. I landed on it, just awkwardly. Didn’t think much of it, I thought I sprained it” said Wentz in an NDSU published documentary. The wrist continued to cost Wentz some discomfort, which led to errant passes and missed opportunities. Ultimately by games end the Bison were left with two losses for the first time since 2010, without their 27 game home winning streak intact, and without their signal-caller for what would be the duration of the season.
Former NDSU head coach, Chris Klieman expressed his feeling about Wentz’s unfortunate circumstances “My heart just broke I love the kid. I absolutely love Carson, and my heart broke for him because you know how hard he worked to get to this stage but that was the plan that God had really.” To make things worse, as Wentz watched helplessly from the sidelines, as his successor Easton Stick was in the midst of leading the Bison to a second consecutive FCB championship. For a lot of players moments like this would be seen as the lowlights of their career. However, for Wentz it was an opportunity to set the team up in the best way possible for future success.
“Huge! I don’t know how else to put it other than, I don’t think we would have had the success as a team, me individually without Carson. Seeing how he handled the injury, the adversity, and helping me through it. Helping me prepare and gameplan, and you know, giving me advice up until kickoff and even afterward. Throughout the game… it’s just been huge. It shows the kind of person he is.” – Easton Stick
It all makes sense why it was so easy for Wentz to adjust after his season-ending ACL injury back in 2017. Of course, how could anyone forget the infamous run of Nick Foles? I mean the guy bought the first Super Bowl title in history to a city dying for its arrival. An accomplishment is so prestigious that the organization decided to build a statue of the man in front of Lincoln Financial Field.
A 9-foot statue that could be viewed as a representation of the shadow cast over what was supposed to be the franchise quarterback. It starts to make you wonder how could a young man that literally had it all snatched from him in the midst of peak success… twice, seamlessly continue to weather the storm?
“It’s definitely a different dynamic, but at the same time, it probably wouldn’t work if he and I weren’t such great friends and understanding of each other. That’s a big piece of it that people don’t probably understand because it gets tricky — but not for us because we’re handling it like men in the locker room. At the end of the day, we want the team to be successful whoever it is at quarterback.” – Nick Foles
Leadership! That’s right the same leadership that was questioned during an article for the Philly Voice just a few years back. See two things can be true, Carson Wentz the player may have a lot of things to improve upon as his career continues. Wentz the person, on the other hand, would probably qualify as one of the best people you’ve ever had the chance to meet. The line that can separate a competitive nature from pure disdain is ultra-thin.
“It’s absolutely human to wish you were in there. But the whole key, it’s a very fine line. And that fine line to me is that you can still not just be happy for the team winning, but happy for Nick, who is at your position. Who could potentially be stealing another person’s thunder? But that’s the pretty cool thing, of all the great things that he’s done this year, it, even more, exemplified the kind of leader he is.”
Expressed former offensive coordinator Frank Reich when discussing Wentz’s contribution since the injury.
Photo: John Clark/NBC Sports Philadelphia
The way Wentz is able to put his own ego aside for the betterment of the team is a testament to his character. This is why when the Philadelphia Eagles selected Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, Carson Wentz was one of the first people to welcome him to “the greatest football city in America.” See while many people will see it as a quarterback controversy, I can give you 130 million reasons why the Eagles look at it as more of an insurance policy. Even Jalen Hurts himself, conceded to the fact that there isn’t a conundrum brewing in Philadelphia.
“He’s a very established, championship-winning quarterback. I can’t wait to be under him and learn. Whatever he’s willing to teach me, I’m willing to take in.”
Well good thing for Hurts, history has shown that Wentz is more than comfortable sharing knowledge and helping the other quarterbacks around him put the team into the best position possible to succeed. Although the circumstances surround the pick may not be ideal at least from a public relations perspective.
The Eagles and more importantly Carson Wentz both understand the value of a quality backup quarterback. Whether or not you choose to entertain the idea that Philadelphia isn’t sold on Carson Wentz long term — hard to believe with that contract — Howie Roseman smartly gambled using a high-quality asset at a position the organization tends to spend large sums of money on annually.
Which in turn will allow the team to save money on the back end? Maybe Roseman did keep his promise to bring Carson Wentz more help after all.
Featured Image: NBC Sports
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