Monday was the first day of school for the 2019 Eagles. Excitement was in the air as the first portion of the offseason program got underway.
Still, the issue that was a dark cloud over this team's head from last season remained — the health of their quarterback.
Like last year, quarterback Carson Wentz was peppered with questions on Monday about his latest injury. Last year it was the torn ACL that cost him a chance to play in the Super Bowl. This year it was the fractured back that ended his 2018 season.
The answers sounded, surprisingly, the same and filled with uncertainty.
"Feeling good. Feeling good," Wentz said. "Right now we are taking it week-by-week. I'm throwing some, I'm running some and just kind of taking it week-by-week."
Wentz would not fully commit to being on the field with his teammates for the first real practice of the offseason on May 21st.
"That's the goal," Wentz said. "There's really no timetable, no rush. I feel good with the progression I've been on."
Here is what we know: The bone in his back isn't healed. He isn't fully recovered. He isn't sure when he will be back.
Last year with a torn ACL, it was expected that Wentz would miss almost all of the team's OTAs when he suffered the injury in December of 2017. Missing any of the offseason workout program this time around never seemed like it was going to be the case.
Remember, when the Eagles first announced Wentz had any kind of back issue, it was a casual statement about back soreness by head coach Doug Pederson on December 12th. He didn't even mention Wentz first among the injured players. The team didn't rule Wentz out from the following game against the Los Angeles Rams. Throughout the end of last season they never put Wentz on injured reserve and pretended each week he might be able to play.
The team will not say when Wentz suffered his injured back last season, but we know they essentially shut him down on December 12th. He first was on the injury report for "rest" on October 10th. He played that following game, and was then on the injury report again the following week with a "back" injury.
Assuming the back injury in October was related to the one he is currently dealing with, and Wentz has been dealing with this back issue for at least seven months. He wouldn't rule it out being an issue next month, and if it is, that would make it eight months.
From no-big deal, general back soreness to still being an issue into the new league year.
Questioning if Wentz will be a full-go in May might seem like looking ahead, but Wentz calling himself week-to-week and not fully committing to being out there at the start of full-team practice makes it absolutely fair to doubt he will be.
What will happen next month remains to be seen, but one thing is once again painfully clear for this team.
They can add all the new weapons on offense they want, but when projecting their 2019 season, their success will start-and-end with Wentz — and at the start of another year, his health remains a the top concern.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
