On Tuesday, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre chimed in on the never-ending Nick Foles vs. Carson Wentz debate, saying he believed the Eagles should have kept Foles over Wentz.
On Wednesday, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was asked about Favre’s comments. After initially saying twice that Favre is entitled to his own opinion, Pederson tried to make it crystal clear on his third answer that he is happy to have Wentz as his quarterback.
“Carson is our guy, Carson is our draft pick, Carson is the guy that is going to carry us and lead this football team. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. Those aren’t my words. Those aren’t Howie’s words, those aren’t Jeffery’s words. Those are his words. I respect that opinion or whatever he wants to say, that is fine. We are going to remain friends,” Pederson said. “It doesn’t bother me one way or another. All I know is Carson Wentz is our guy. And it is my job to get Carson to play better, to do better, to help this team win. As it is to get everybody else to play better. Again, I respect his opinion and his words. Those aren’t mine. Please don’t put words in my mouth or we are going to have a problem. Carson is our guy. Bottom line. End of story.”
While everyone seems to have given their opinion on Foles vs. Wentz, Favre’s answer was somewhat noteworthy because of the close relationship he has to Pederson. The two were very close during their days with the Packers and Favre spoke to the Eagles prior to Super Bowl LII.
Here were Favre’s comments from Tuesday, when he was a guest on ESPN’s First Take.
"I actually thought that they should have kept Nick Foles rather than Carson Wentz just based off of production and where they got to. They won a Super Bowl with Foles,” Favre said. “That was a little bit surprising. They are obviously banking on his upside. How many more years do you let it linger before you stick with him or cut bait?”
Favre was also asked if Wentz has proven to be the quarterback that the Eagles hoped he would be when they drafted him to be their franchise guy.
"Tough one… it is puzzling. I think he is very capable. I know he has to stay healthy,” Favre said. “The pieces around him, I'm not saying they are good enough or not good enough, but they have to stay healthy and have some consistency. Sometimes I don't even know who he is throwing too. They have just been riddled with injury and that has certainly not helped Carson, and he has been injured himself. Play a full season with your guys and let's see what you are capable of.”
Although Foles hasn’t been on the Eagles since 2018, the debate about the two continues on mostly due to Wentz having arguably his worst season in the NFL so far in 2020. Wentz is leading the league in interceptions (12) and has fumbled the ball away four times. Although Foles is struggling in Chicago, Wentz’s struggles have kept the debate on whether Foles would be doing better in Philadelphia alive.
The harsh reality is that the debate will continue on no matter what Pederson says.
The other reality?
The Eagles have a critically important game this Sunday against the Giants, and it is safe to say Pederson would have rather been focused on the game instead of his former teammate’s comments.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!