Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Birds come to terms with Wentz injury
PHILADELPHIA >> Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has had two major tests this week, a CT scan and an MRI. A stress fracture was found in his back.
Wentz hasn’t practiced all week, and was in enough discomfort after the Dallas game Sunday to tell some of his teammates and the medical staff.
All of that and Doug Pederson insisted the quarterback was questionable for the Los Angeles Rams Sunday night. Thankfully the coach was talked into amending “questionable” to “doubtful” before the injury report came out.
“He has a stress injury evolved over time and it requires no surgery,” Pederson said Friday. “I’m not answering any more questions about it. We’re playing the Rams in two days, if you guys haven’t figured this out. He’s listed as questionable, and that’s the way it is.”
Pederson later realized he was the one who hadn’t figured out the injury to Wentz is major news. After all, Wentz is the face of the franchise. Pederson contradicted himself during the contentious presser. He tried to dance around remarks he made earlier in the week about Wentz.
But Pederson didn’t deny what he said Wednesday about Wentz sustaining “a new injury.” The stress fracture to Wentz’s vertebrae, NFL sources confirmed again Friday, is unrelated to the back tightness the quarterback felt in October. That doesn’t explain the “evolving” verbiage, of course.
Eagles players, just the same, are impressed that Wentz is there for them and doing what he can to improve their dwindling chances of upsetting the Rams to stay in postseason contention.
“He’s a tough guy,” Eagles receiver Nelson Agholor said. “Obviously, he’s present and he’s trying to do as much as he can. At the end of the day he’s still going to be mentally in it. I’ve got to respect him for that.”
Pederson’s evasiveness put the Eagles’ medical and training staff in a tough place, particularly the vague remark about how the injury “evolved over time.” It suggested the Eagles allowed Wentz to play through the issue, which, sources said, wasn’t the case.
Pederson was clear about a few items Friday morning. The first was how long it would take Wentz to heal completely.
“I don’t want to put a timetable on it but it could be three months, possibly,” Pederson said.
Additionally, Pederson said Wentz wouldn’t play before he’s medically cleared. Risking a guy coming off all of those tests and no practice against the Rams and their pass rush led by tackle Aaron Donald, who leads the NFL with 16.5 sacks, would be grounds for dismissal.
“He’s traveling (to L.A.),” Pederson said. “If we put him out there, um, there has to be 100 percent that there’s no risk of anything further.”
The trip won’t be a waste of time for Wentz. He and Rams counterpart Jared Goff are friends. Both are represented by agent Bruce Tollner of Rep 1 Sports.
Look for Nick Foles to start at quarterback for the Eagles, who are 13-point underdogs, up from 9 ½ points. Foles guided the Eagles to a 5-1 record, including the playoffs, when Wentz was hurt last season.
The piece de resistance for Foles was beating Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, 41-33, in a shootout in Super Bowl LII. Foles was MVP of the game.
“It’s not like a new guy coming in,” guard Brandon Brooks said. “It’s not like a guy that didn’t have any work coming in. I mean he got a lot of work last year. He got a lot of work in training camp.”
There was an interesting moment of clarity for Pederson, Friday, when asked about injury concerns going forward with Wentz. Last year a knee injury forced Wentz out of the last three games of the regular season.
“I think you can guys can sit here and say it’s probably a red flag,” Pederson said. “A lot of injuries occur because of the nature of the sport. There are violent hits in this sport. Guys know exactly what they’re getting into. I think Carson’s no different. We’ve just got to make sure that we do a better job of protecting him starting with the offensive line, starting with the backs. He does his part by getting the ball out of his hand. I do my part by maybe incorporating more screens and quick throws to help that. But it’s not in any way going to change my aggressiveness or his.”
It sounds like it already has impacted that aggressiveness. And unless Foles repeats the miracle of the 2017 season, that’s another subject for another long offseason.
••• While Wentz (back) is doubtful, defensive end Michael Bennett (foot), wide receiver Shelton Gibson (wrist) and defensive back Avonte Maddox (ankle, knee) are questionable for the Rams.
Out are linebacker Jordan Hicks (calf), defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan (back), cornerback Sidney Jones (hamstring) and guard Isaac Seumalo (pectoral).
Questionable, by the way, is another way of saying it’s uncertain the player will see action. Doubtful means it’s unlikely the player will play.
••• Talk about a slump to kill for. The Rams and Goff were 10-1 at the bye. They averaged 35.4 points. Since then the Rams are 1-1 and have scored just 36 points.