It’s over.
Now it’s just a matter of the Eagles admitting it to themselves, dealing with one of the biggest financial mistakes in NFL history and doing what’s best to move this franchise forward.
Sunday’s 22-17 loss to the Browns wasn’t just a bad Carson Wentz game. Those aren’t earth shattering any longer. It was bigger than that. Watching Wentz miss throws, turn the ball over, hand the Browns nine points (in what ended up as a five-point loss) and look completely lost on the field hit home this point: The Wentz era is over in Philadelphia.
There’s no life to this quarterback, and you can now see it on the body language of his teammates. Great (or even good) quarterbacks inspire confidence from the other 52 guys they lead. Wentz does the opposite. The Eagles can say all the right things, but we’ve hit an all-time low in belief in this player. That includes the body language of his teammates and the fan base.
Right now, Wentz does nothing well. He doesn’t see the field. He’s not especially mobile, especially compared to the actual runners at the position in today’s game. He’s not accurate. He doesn’t throw with anticipation. This isn’t a viable NFL starting quarterback, and let’s save the excuses or blame for play calling and the head coach. Wentz is dragging down the entire team, one loss at a time. The Eagles aren’t as bad as they look right now, and would likely be a six-win team with simply average quarterback play.
Your guess is as good as mine (injuries? mental weakness?) as to why rapid decline arrived, but it’s here.
We can pretend like Doug Pederson did in his postgame press conference, or we can admit the truth the Eagles won’t: Wentz’s $128M contract is why he’s still this team’s starting quarterback. The Eagles, already in a bad cap situation, would incur a $59M dead cap hit by cutting him before next season. The Eagles are stuck on bad money with Wentz until 2022, at the earliest.
It’s the worst contract in the NFL right now, and way worse than whatever you deem to be the second worst.
But none of this means the Eagles have to (or will) continue to lie to themselves.
At some point, a sunk cost can’t continue to hold power and dictate the franchise. Maybe Wentz has a couple decent games down the stretch and we lie to ourselves for a little while longer. Perhaps this charade lasts for the rest of 2020. Maybe the Eagles keep it going into the offseason. Don’t rule out them putting on a three-act play and making the drama play out in 2021.
It’s either going to cost them games or money. Tough call, but one Jeffrey Lurie needs to make ASAP.
I don’t know if Jalen Hurts can play, but the Eagles sure thought he could during the draft. I don’t know if he’s ready or not, but I do know Wentz isn’t fit to be a winning quarterback right now. I don’t know if the Eagles would swallow the Wentz deal in order to reinvigorate the franchise, but I do know it all feels like a matter of if, not when.
The Eagles committed to Wentz too soon, and it’s now the anchor bringing down the franchise. The Hurts pick was a hedge, but likely one they weren’t expecting to have to use and turn to this quickly. Life in the NFL moves fast, and it’s now time to see how quickly the Eagles react to the reality of their situation.
This, of course, is bigger than winning the 2020 NFC East. It’s bigger than draft position. It’s bigger than run/pass ratio. It’s the biggest question mark hovering over the franchise.
If it were up to me, I’d turn to Hurts now. See what the kid has and can do before fully evaluating the position when the season ends. Maybe (and hopefully) Hurts is the answer. If he’s not, a top-10 pick could be there to get it right. Trade Wentz, eat the money and put the franchise back on the right track as soon as possible.
Wentz had a nice run in Philadelphia. Maybe he can resurrect his career somewhere else after serving time as a backup like Ryan Tannehill did in Tennessee. He looked special in 2017, but was always an athlete playing quarterback. The athleticism isn’t there any longer, and his growth as a passer never caught up. But regardless of why erosion happened, it happened.
It’s over here, and just a matter of time until the Eagles are willing to say it out loud.