Eagles officially bench Carson Wentz for Jalen Hurts
By Josh Hill
The Carson Wentz era in Philadelphia appears to be over for now, as Jalen Hurts is taking the reigns.
If the writing was already on the wall, those inside the Eagles organization are finally reading it.
Carson Wentz has been benched, and Jalen Hurts will assume duties as the team’s starting quarterback effective immediately.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen, the Eagles have made the move to bench Carson Wentz official and named Jalen Hurts the teams’ starter for Sunday’s game against the Saints.
“Doug Pederson is naming Jalen Hurts his new starting quarterback and the rookie will start Sunday vs. the New Orleans Saints,” Schefter reported on Tuesday. “Carson Wentz now will backup Hurts.”
Hurts replaced Wentz this past weekend in Green Bay after the Eagles once again stalled out of the gate in the first half. While he wasn’t able to produce a win, the change of pace from Wentz to Hurts added a noticeable spark to Philly’s offense almost instantly.
Now the show belongs to Hurts, as his audition to be the Eagles permanent starter begins this Sunday against New Orleans.
Historically, the Eagles going from Wentz to whoever is backing him up has played out well. Back in 2017, an ACL tear ended Wentz’s season and he watched from the sidelines as Nick Foles lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over the Patriots. Foles again replaced Wentz a year later and led Philly to the playoffs, but fell short of another miraculous Super Bowl finish.
While there is immediate relief for Eagles fans, the agony of the Wentz era isn’t officially over. The Eagles are still on the hook for Wentz’s contract until at least 2022, but even then there’s $24 million in dead cap space if they release him. Trading him this offseason won’t be any cheaper, in fact, it would cost the Eagles more since it would leave a $33 million dead cap crater in the books. This isn’t the end of the road for Wentz and the Eagles, as trying to fix him this offseason is the least expensive route the team can take.
But no amount of money is worth the pain and torture Philadelphia has been through this season with Wentz. This move makes that abundantly clear.