Birds end awful season with prime-time loss to Washington
Disappointing season ends in embarrassing fashion as Birds fall to Washington, 20-14
Eagles’ quarterback Nate Sudfeld looks downfield during the second half against the Washington Football Team Sunday in Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA » Quarterback Carson Wentz was a healthy scratch Sunday night for the first, but probably not the last time in his Eagles career.
Benched in favor of rookie Jalen Hurts, the veteran of five seasons did not dress for the game although he played catch with teammates in the warmups.
Unless the Eagles get a blockbuster trade offer for Wentz, look for him to compete with Hurts for the Eagles’ starting quarterback spot next season.
Wentz still will be seeking a trade, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, who, citing sources, described the quarterback’s relationship with head coach Doug Pederson as “fractured beyond repair.”
That’s another way of saying Wentz and Pederson basically don’t trust each other. Sources. speculated t The report came via Eagles higher ups.
Wentz and Pederson worked through an issue during the 2018 season. Wentz sought outside medical opinions to play through a hairline fracture in his back but was finessed out of the starting lineup for Nick Foles, the reigning Super Bowl MVP. Foles rallied the Eagles not only to the playoffs, but to a win over the Chicago Bears in the wild card round.
Flash forward day night, the to SunEagles would have been out of their minds playing Wentz with the lineup they put on the field to play Washington at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles came out on offense with the much-maligned Matt Pryor at left tackle and Brett Toth at right tackle. It was Toth’s first NFL start.
Wentz has to be healthy to be trade worthy. If the Eagles want to get any value out of him in a deal, they also need his help contractually, which basically means he has to approve the team.
Third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld dressed, prepared to take some of the hits from that WFT defensive line.
Oh and Wentz completed a season healthy for the first time since his rookie year.
••• Pederson, who was 23
27-1 since leading the Eagles to their Lombardi Trophy, is expected to be the head coach again in
2021 according to numerous “insider” reports.
That isn’t surprising, considering how he personally said the same thing three times last week, and that 2021 is expected to be exceedingly difficult for the Eagles.
The coaching staff already has changed, as defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will take the year off. There will be more turnover, per reports, which also isn’t surprising considering how much change there’s been in each of the two seasons since the Super Bowl.
Pederson doesn’t have full control over the composition of his coaching staff. That was revealed last year when he said Mike Groh would be back, only to have his righthand man and offensive coordinator fired a couple of days later.
Pederson is unlikely to get more substantive input in personnel. He has two years left on his contract. His job is to develop Jalen Hurts.
With the Eagles limited by the salary cap, they’re going to have to get creative, rework contracts and rid themselves of high-priced and injury prone veterans Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson and Malik Jackson. Jackson has been healthier than the aforementioned others.
Another candidate to be traded is tight end Zach Ertz, who has one year left on his contract. The 30-year-old Ertz entered the season finale with a career-low 33 receptions. He missed five games with a sprained ankle.
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NOTES » To no one’s surprise. Fox reported through Jay Glazer that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman would be back in 2021. ... In addition to Wentz, the Eagles scratched Jeffer y, running back Miles Sanders, cornerback Michael Jacquet, offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, tight ends Richard Rodgers and Dallas Goedert, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and defensive end Derek Barnett.