Sunday is a big day for the Eagles and Carson Wentz

Carson Wentz continues to get closer and closer to his return for the Eagles. Sunday will be another important day in his recovery from a torn ACL.

The Eagles aren’t rushing Carson Wentz to return, but they are happy to see him progress on or ahead of schedule. His chances of being the team’s starter against the Falcons when the regular season begins will certainly increase if Sunday goes well for him.

That’s the day when Wentz is scheduled to rejoin 11-on-11 work with his teammates. That doesn’t mean he’s going to take any meaningful hits, but it’s the closest thing he’s experienced to real football since tearing his ACL last year. At the very least, it will give Doug Pederson an his staff a very idea of where their franchise quarterback’s recovery stands.

If all goes well on Sunday, Wentz’s chances of playing Week 1 increase dramatically. Nothing that happens this weekend is going to assure him of being the team’s starter when the regular season begins, but it would serve as a big step in the right direction. The Eagles are comfortable with the idea of starting Nick Foles to open the year, but clearly they’d prefer Wentz to be under center when the NFL season begins.

The coaching staff will be paying particularly close attention to how Wentz is moving in the pocket. There aren’t any concerns about his arm strength at this point. Various reports have claimed the young signal caller is throwing the ball with more velocity than ever before. There are significant concerns about whether or not he can move well enough to avoid oncoming pass rushers. Making plays with his legs is a huge part of Wentz’s game.

Even if Wentz looks good in 11-on-11 work, don’t expect the Eagles to rush him into preseason action. Exposing him to live opponents when the games don’t really count would be a poor decision by the front office. There’s an outside chance Wentz might get a serious or two in the team’s preseason finale, but it’s much more likely he’ll be held out of action until the regular season begins in earnest.

The ultimate point here is that Wentz is continuing to get closer and closer to being ready to play meaningful games for the Eagles. That’s good news for everyone in Philadelphia other than Foles.