Chris Long weighs in on disgruntled Carson Wentz rumors originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The crumbling Carson Wentz situation in Philadelphia received another jolt Sunday morning when reports emerged of Wentz wanting to "move on" if Jalen Hurts remains the starting quarterback.
Wentz, who is due more than $100 million over the next four years, put together easily the worst season of his career before being benched for Hurts in the third quarter of the Week 13 loss to the Packers.
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Whether he'll ever start again for the Eagles is unclear, a fact that is incredible considering where Wentz stood four months ago.
But a former Wentz teammate says the blame for the apparently deteriorating situation should start with Wentz himself.
Chris Long, who won a Super Bowl with the Eagles when Wentz watched backup Nick Foles lead the Birds to a title, weighed in on the reports Sunday morning:
He kind of hedged his takes, but it's also hard to disagree with anything Long said here. There is blame to be shared within the organization, from drafting Hurts to building a mediocre and aging corps of skill positions around Wentz heading into this season.
But the blame absolutely lands at the feet of Wentz's "objectively bad play", as Long put it.
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Wentz would have an argument if he was, say, the 18th-best quarterback in the league this year after being a Top 10 or Top 12 option last year. The argument would be: 'Hey, can I get some help here?'
Except Wentz has been awful this year, the bottom-of-the-league kind of awful that can get you benched for good.
Out of 35 qualifying quarterbacks, Wentz ranks:
- 27th in touchdowns per attempt
- 34th in interception per attempt
- 34th in yards per attempt
- 35th in completion percentage
When you're that bad, you get benched. Period.
Now, Long is also right in that a former starter who gets benched will likely want another shot at being a starter. It's not surprising that Wentz would want to head elsewhere to try and returning to QB1 status.
Former Eagles wide receiver and Super Bowl LII champion Torrey Smith agreed:
Really, the way this is unfolding isn't too surprising.
What's most surprising is just how fast it happened.
