Eagles plan to start Carson Wentz in opener after Sam Bradford trade

The Philadelphia Eagles will start Carson Wentz in the season opener following the trade of Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Carson Wentz era could be getting started much earlier than originally thought. The Philadelphia Eagles traded starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday. The Eagles will receive a first round pick and a conditional pick from the team who needed a quarterback after losing Teddy Bridgewater for the year.

After the trade, the Eagles are left with Chase Daniel who signed a big free agent deal to reunite with Doug Peterson and first round pick Carson Wentz. The Eagles traded up to the No. 2 spot in the NFL Draft to take the North Dakota State passer and he’s being thrown into the starting lineup.

The Eagles were playing it safe with Wentz after he hurt his ribs in the preseason but plan to start him if he’s healthy for the opener against the Cleveland Browns. ESPN’s Adam Caplan was first to report the news.

Wentz may have been best served sitting on the bench to begin the season. He was a productive player and a winner at the FCS level but his limited playing time in the preseason combined with the jump in competition could stunt his development.

Pederson is familiar with Daniel dating back to their time together with the Kansas City Chiefs so I thought Daniel would be the starter after the Bradford deal. That was until Wentz was ready to assume the job a few weeks into the season.

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But Wentz is clearly the team’s quarterback of the future and it is difficult to sit the No. 2 overall pick. Therefore, it is not shocking at all to hear of the Eagles plans to start Wentz. I wouldn’t expect him to be lighting the NFL world on fire in his first few starts, but they have to see what they have in him after giving up so much to get him.