A former well-known Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is joining a team that could win the Super Bowl.
Carson Wentz, who was picked as the No. 2 overall in the draft and was once considered for Most Valuable Player while playing for the Eagles, is agreeing to play for the Kansas City Chiefs as a backup to Patrick Mahomes, as reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Carson Wentz Showed MVP-Level Performance in 2017
The 31-year-old Wentz spent the second part of the 2023 season with the Los Angeles Rams, joining them in Week 10 after being without a team for the first half of the year. Wentz played one game for the Rams — the last game of the season while the main quarterback Matthew Stafford rested — and had good stats, completing 17 out of 24 passes with two touchdowns, one interception, and 163 passing yards. He also ran for 56 yards and scored a touchdown in that game.
Before his time with the Rams, Wentz was a highly praised main player for the Eagles. Wentz was selected for the Pro Bowl and was part of the Second Team All-Pro during the 2017 season — the year the Eagles won the Super Bowl. However, Wentz missed the whole playoff run of Philadelphia because of a torn ACL injury in a game in Week 14.
Wentz was having a season where he could have been MVP, throwing 33 touchdowns and only having seven interceptions for a quarterback rating of 101.9. Even though he missed four games, he still ended up as the third in the MVP voting . His passing touchdown percentage and quarterback rating were the best in the NFL, and he was second in the number of touchdowns.
Carson Wentz Has Not Yet Regained His 2017 Performance Level
However, Wentz’s career has been declining since then. Wentz was the main quarterback for the Eagles for three more seasons, helping them reach the playoffs in 2018 and 2019. Yet, a back injury caused him to start in only 11 games in the 2018 season and miss the playoffs again.
Wentz was able to start his first-ever playoff game in 2019, but he got a head injury in the first quarter and couldn't play for the rest of the game because of a concussion.
He started the 2020 season as the main quarterback, but he was replaced by rookie Jalen Hurts after leading the league in interceptions (15), turnovers (19), and sacks taken (50). Despite being benched after 12 games played, he still led the league in all three of those categories by the end of the season.
Since leaving Philly, Wentz has been the main player for the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders. The Colts even traded a first and third-round pick to get him, but after a productive 2021 season where he threw 27 touchdowns and had seven interceptions, he lost the last two games of the season including the final one against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were the worst team in the league.
Both teams moved on from Wentz after he spent only one season with each of them.
Like his role in Los Angeles as Stafford’s backup, he'll have similar responsibilities in Kansas City behind their main quarterback Mahomes.
In his eight seasons, Wentz has thrown for a total of 22,292 yards, 153 touchdowns, and 67 interceptions with a 62.7% completion rate. He has a career record of 47-45-1 in 95 appearances and 93 starts.
