Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery are still multiple weeks away from playing as they recover from injury, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) and Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link).
Wentz is roughly nine months removed from tearing his ACL, so it’s no surprise Philadelphia is taking a cautious approach with its franchise signal-caller. While he’s been cleared for 11-on-11 drills, Wentz isn’t allowed to practice with full contact just yet. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has previously indicated Wentz will need a week of full contact practice before he’ll be re-inserted as the club’s starter.
Philadelphia has the luxury of deploying Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles under center until Wentz is healthy enough to play. The Eagles managed to win the season opener on Thursday night, but Foles wasn’t very effective in the ugly victory. He completed 19-of-34 passes for just 117 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.
Jeffery, meanwhile, is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, and was at one point considered a candidate for the physically unable to perform list, which would have forced him to miss the first six games of the season. Instead, the Eagles opted to keep Jeffery on the active roster, and recent reports have indicated he could return by Week 3.
Regarding Wentz you look at their next 2 games (Bucs, Colts) should be wins, the game against the Titans you can afford to lose if he’s still not ready. Then the question is do they bring him back to face a great Vikings defense, or do they wait another week and bring him back to face a average Giants defense?
Good question. I would guess the latter. If the Eagles already err on the side of caution with their star QB, then they should start Wentz against the Giants.
Sit Wentz as long as you can. If he really is your future, take damn care of him. 9-7 should win the East. There’s wiggle room this year. Take care of your franchise. Let Foles manage games and run the ball. If they can win ugly games like this last one, they should be ok.
The truth
Ugly it was, but a lot of those 1st game jitters should go away and both teams will improve !
That’s going to be the real deciding factor on how much the Eagles push to start Wentz. The factor of can the team be competent with Foles under center. They had one hell of a run last year with Foles under center. Surprised how rough it’s been.