ARIZONA — Whether the team wants to admit it or not, the reality is that ever since he went down with a fractured back in December of last season, there has been debate amongst their fanbase about whether quarterback Carson Wentz is still the player to lead this franchise.
Over the last two days at the NFL Annual Meetings in Arizona, however, the Eagles' power trio of Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson have gone above-and-beyond to make it clear that there has been no debate within the organization when it comes to Wentz or Nick Foles.
When asked flat-out why he still believes Wentz is a franchise quarterback, despite a rocky year-and-a-half for Wentz, here is what Pederson had to say.
"I love the way he works, in the building early. He's prepared. The way he studies. Love the way he practices. Not only when he's in the drill but off to the side, he's working with guys," Pederson said. "Just love the way he leads our football team. And he's just gotta continue to do that and just be Carson, let his personality show like everybody else. And he'll be fine."
The Eagles' clear goal of sending the message of how high they are on Wentz during the Annual Meetings likely had two purposes.
First, the team just decided to let former Foles walk, a move that some in the fanbase believed was a mistake. The praise of Wentz almost felt at times like a reminder to the fans -- or perhaps to themselves -- of just how special the team still believes Wentz can be.
"When you draw it up, he's exactly what you want," Lurie said. "Highly competitive, very type-A personality. Demanding, very smart, obsessed with winning and winning big. Respected by everybody. You can't really draw it up much better, and we're lucky to have him."
Second, the Eagles and Wentz have likely had talks this offseason already about a contract extension, one that would pay him huge money and cement him as the franchise-quarterback. Roseman is not usually one to talk about contract negotiations through the media, but even he went beyond his normal comfort zone this week to make it known to everyone that the Eagles want to pay Wentz.
"We have to be realistic about the fact that we have a quarterback we want to pay and we want to extend long term," Roseman said, "and how we are going to build our team with that player — which is exciting for us."
Whether the Eagles are correct about Wentz remains to be seen. The team clearly does not want to admit it, but despite his immense talent, things have taken a turn for the worse for Wentz ever since he tore his ACL back in 2017. The 2019 season is a critical one for the quarterback and for the franchise. If Wentz does not return to the player he was before his career-altering injury in Los Angeles, the team could be in major trouble.
A possibility the Eagles went above-and-beyond to make clear to anyone who would listen they do not expect to happen.
"We want to have a team led by a franchise type of quarterback," Roseman said. "We know that we have that in Carson."
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
