While the starting quarterback position for the Philadelphia Eagles is set in stone, the team could probably upgrade the depth chart behind him. As it stands, Philadelphia is looking at a rookie and two limited young players after Jalen Hurts.
Are the Eagles really content enough to enter the season with this group? Or will they look to add another veteran as an insurance policy? If they choose to do so, one available free agent makes a ton of sense, particularly because he's had previous success with the franchise. That veteran is Carson Wentz.
Do the Eagles trust their backup quarterbacks?
The current quarterback group behind Hurts in Philadelphia has Tanner McKee, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and rookie Kyle McCord. Not exactly a threatening group. McKee and Thompson-Robinson have NFL experience, appearing in 17 games combined (15 for DTR and two for McKee).
However, neither fits what the Eagles need to have at the position. McKee is a much less mobile player than the ideal quarterback in this offense, and, even though he has yet to throw an interception, he has just 323 passing yards on 45 career passing attempts. Thompson-Robinson has the athleticism and dual-threat ability of the ideal candidate, but has only one touchdown compared to 10 interceptions and a bunch of sacks.
The Eagles would be wise to look into other options.
Carson Wentz's first go-round in Philly
The first thing that makes sense about a potential reunion between these two parties is that Wentz is familiar with the city and the organization. The Eagles drafted him second overall in 2016, and he quickly became the face of the franchise. Before his ACL injury in 2017, he was quickly becoming one of the premier quarterbacks in the league -- potentially on par with what we've seen from Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and others.
But his health robbed him of that, even though the Eagles won their first Super Bowl that season anyway.
Wentz won AP Comeback Player of the Year the following season and remained with Philadelphia through the 2020 season, but never led the team back to its promising heights. He was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in February 2021 and put up over 3,500 passing yards with 27 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions.
Carson Wentz is officially a backup, and that's not a bad thing
That was his last full season as a starter. Indianapolis traded him to Washington in the offseason, and a broken finger landed him on injured reserve and gave way to an improbable run from backup Taylor Heinicke. Since then, he's spent time as a backup quarterback with the Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs.
At 32 years old, Wentz has plenty left in the tank. But let's not kid ourselves here. While teams will continue to look at veteran starters thanks to recent events, Wentz's days as a starting quarterback in the NFL are behind him.
His role officially changed when he joined the Rams, and there may be no more ideal option available to him this offseason than returning to where his career began. It honestly makes sense for both parties and could be a perfect way to bookend his career, depending on how long he stays and how much longer he intends to stay active in the NFL.
There may be no more obvious upgrade the Eagles could make to their QB room. While he's not as mobile as Hurts or Thompson-Robinson, he brings the best of all worlds, given the available free agent market and his starting experience.