Eagles name Carson Wentz starting quarterback
The Philadelphia Eagles will have Carson Wentz as their starting quarterback against the Cleveland Browns.
The Philadelphia Eagles entered the final week of the preseason with a surplus of quarterbacks. Teddy Bridgewater’s injury was an unintentional solution to that problem as the Minnesota Vikings traded for Sam Bradford. Now the Eagles can move forward with Carson Wentz, the second overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson named Wentz the Eagles’ starting quarterback.
Perhaps the Eagles are putting Wentz into the fire a bit too early. But it is clear that they love him. They love him so much that they aggressively got the second overall pick in a trade so that they could draft him. The North Dakota State quarterback did not play much during the preseason due to an injury. However, Chase Daniel did nothing to show that he could handle a starting job. So the Eagles are going to go with the guy who they gave up a lot to draft.
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Baltimore Ravens fans might be getting a feeling of deja vu with this situation. In 2008, the Ravens did not want Joe Flacco to be the starting quarterback at first. However, injuries forced them to do so. Looking back on it eight years later, starting Flacco wound up being the right move. Flacco got his starting role because Troy Smith got sick. Wentz has his starting job because Daniel didn’t impress and Bridgewater got injured.
Much like Flacco, Wentz is known for his arm. He has struggled with his accuracy, but he is an athletic quarterback who should be able to help keep the Eagles in the game. Of course, Wentz will not have the luxury of having an excellent defense like Flacco. Just like Flacco, Wentz will have to do a lot of his learning on the fly.