A Wild Conspiracy Theory About Carson Wentz and the Eagles
The definition of insanity is doing the exact same thing, expecting different results.
So by that definition, the Eagles are insane.
Since their humiliating loss in week 1 against the Washington Football Team, there hasn’t been a single improvement in team play, and what’s worse is that the coaching strategy has remained the same.
Moreover, of all of the criticism being passed around, no one has caught a larger brunt of the blame than Carson Wentz despite not being the biggest problem.
But what if this is what the Eagles have wanted this entire time? Is it possible that the Eagles have conspired against Wentz to purposely make him look bad so that they can move on from him?
Here’s a look at the timeline that can corroborate that claim.
June 6th, 2019
that is the day Carson Wentz and the Eagles signed a contract extension to the tune of four years for $128 million. Nick Foles had left the organization after coming off of the bench for two straight years and Wentz had once again been given the keys to the offense.
The following season, Wentz played like a franchise quarterback, without a doubt, throwing for 4,039 yards, 27 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions, and leading the team to a division title and playoff berth.
January 5th, 2020
Then, on January 5th, 2020, Wentz was set to make his first career playoff start after all of the noise that he couldn’t stay healthy down the stretch. That’s when the unexpected happened; Wentz would take a dirty hit from Jadeveon Clowney and be ruled out for the rest of the game with a concussion. Josh McCown leads a valiant effort down to the wire, but it wasn’t enough, as the Eagles would lose 17-9 and were left wondering what could have been.
Photo: David Maialetti/Philadelphia Inquirer
The Eagles had lost Wentz for a third straight year, due to no fault of his own, and it’s possible that the front office felt as though they didn’t want to be attached to his contract anymore. So three months following the playoff game against Seattle, the team would select Jalen Hurts with the 53rd overall pick shocking the entire NFL. At the time, Howie Roseman claimed that this pick was purely for insurance purposes in case another unfortunate incident happened at a crucial time, as well as the addition of a different dimension to the offense. But really, this pick was the Eagles’ first move in moving away from Carson Wentz.
2020 Season
Fast forward to the 2020 season, and take a look at all of the ways the Eagles have schemed against Wentz. Doug Pederson has continually refused to roll Wentz out of the pocket even though that is one of the quarterback’s strengths. The coaching staff, as a whole, has not made any attempt to correct any of Wentz’s mistakes. Howie Roseman has made futile attempts at surrounding Wentz with the best playmakers possible.
None of what is happening is a mistake; these are purposeful attempts to put Wentz in the worst situation possible and it has worked. Wentz has regressed astonishingly and the media and fan base are both clamoring for the benching of the quarterback.
Now you may be wondering, why would the Eagles tank Wentz’s value if they want to move on from him? Starting in 2021, Wentz has an annual cap hit of $32 million. Add that with his injury history, and teams are very unlikely to be willing to give up major draft capital to take Wentz on. Therefore, in order for the Eagles to be able to get another team interested, Wentz’s value needs to be low so a front office would be prepared to take on that risk.
It is not normal for a quarterback to go from a career TD-INT ratio of 2.77 to a ratio of 1.0 this season. It is not normal for a quarterback to go from a career 92.7 rating to a season rating of 73.3. It is not normal for a quarterback to have absolutely no confidence in his throws.
The theory that the Eagles have purposely made Wentz look bad is very possible and one that should be kept an eye on if the team moves on from him in the near future.
Featured Image: David Maialetti/Philadelphia Inquirer
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Eagles News Unique Columns