PHILADELPHIA − Pretty soon Carson Wentz is going to run out of NFL practice clothing to wear during his workouts.
Last week, Wentz posted a photo on his Instagram account of him working out with an item from all three of his former teams − an Eagles helmet, a Washington Commanders practice jersey and Indianapolis Colts shorts.
Wentz’s caption was: “Back in the lab … just looks a little different so far this year.”
With NFL training camps in full swing, Wentz is working out on his own hoping to get the chance to add another set of practice gear from another team.
Chances are, Wentz will probably get one. It could even be from the Eagles.
Don’t laugh.
Before we explain, let’s point out that Jalen Hurts, the quarterback who supplanted Wentz for the final 4 1/2 games of the 2020 season, only has one team’s practice jersey. That will last for at least the next five years after Hurts signed a five-year extension worth as much as $255 million.
So there would be no quarterback controversy.
Let’s also point out that Hurts is always in the so-called “lab.” Coaches and teammates alike have described Hurts’ work ethic as legendary. As former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, now the Colts head coach, put it: “Jalen never leaves.”
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That hasn’t changed after last season when Hurts was the MVP runner-up, led the Eagles to the Super Bowl and signed the (at the time) record-setting contract.
In fact, Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown said Hurts is playing “on another level” so far in training camp.
“Making throws here and there, and making it look easy,” Brown said. “But I’m sure he would tell you he has stuff to work on. He’s not complacent.”
For proof, head coach Nick Sirianni yelled at Hurts during a team drill last week while the Eagles were working on a 3rd-and-5 late-game situation without a timeout.
Hurts, thinking he had gotten the first down, got up and left the ball on the field, signifying that the clock would stop briefly to reset the chains, thus allowing the Eagles to get to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball with a new set of downs.
Sirianni, however, ruled the Eagles were a yard short, setting up fourth down with the clock running. So he was livid that Hurts didn’t hand the ball to the referee to get the ball placed in order to start the next play.
Hurts yelled something back and Sirianni yelled again, essentially saying that’s how games are lost. Hurts, kneeling on the sideline, appeared to think over what Sirianni said. Then he did a set of pushups.
“When you can coach your best player the hardest, that’s good for everybody,” Sirianni said. “So Jalen, it’s evident by who he is as a person. He craves and wants to be better at all times.”
Contrast that to Wenz’s downfall that began less than a year after he signed a four-year extension with the Eagles in the spring of 2019. The contract was worth as much as $128 million, a record at that time.
But Wentz bristled when the Eagles drafted Hurts in the second round in 2020. Wentz then proceeded to have by far the worst year of his career. He was benched late that season for Hurts, then demanded to be traded when he was told he’d have to compete with Hurts for the starting job in 2021.
The Eagles traded Wentz to the Colts, who missed the playoffs as Wentz played poorly in the final two games, with the Colts needing to win just one of them. The Colts then traded Wentz to Washington, and that was a disaster. The Eagles sacked him 9 times in a 24-8 win Week 3 as Wentz stubbornly tried making plays instead of throwing the ball away.
After the season, the Commanders decided to turn the team over to Sam Howell, their fifth-round pick in 2022, rather than pay Wentz another $28 million.
But there could be a few major differences from that headstrong, entitled Wentz to this multi-team practice gear Wentz. And that’s why he could end up with a job, and possibly even an Eagles reunion.
For one, there shouldn’t be any illusions of starting anymore. That means Wentz will have to fit his new team’s system, and not the other way around. “Hero ball” won’t be tolerated.
Secondly, there’s the money. Any team that signs Wentz will be paying him a low-cost, low-risk contract. Make no mistake, as poorly as Wentz has played since the 2020 season, he is still better than some of the backup quarterbacks in the NFL − and a few of the starters.
In the last three seasons, Wentz is 14-21-1 as a starter, completing 60.6% of his passes for 54 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. His passer rating is 83.6. For context, Russell Wilson’s passer rating last season was 84.4, and Wilson made close to $50 million.
As for the Eagles, Marcus Mariota is the backup, so they’re clearly not looking at Wentz − right now.
But keep this scenario in the back of your mind if Wentz is still unsigned after the season starts: If Hurts suffers a multi-week injury, Mariota would take over as the starter. But then the Eagles’ backup would be either Ian Book or sixth-round pick Tanner McKee.
No offense to either, but on a team with Super Bowl expectations, there’s no way the Eagles can put their postseason fate in the hands of a vastly inexperienced quarterback.
This current version of Wentz − humbled, wanting another chance, at a minimal salary-cap hit − could work in that scenario.
Heck, Wentz already has the helmet.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
