Eagles QB Carson Wentz wanted to play despite stress fracture in his back

Senior writer

Fri, Dec 21, 2018, 8:04 PM

Not that anyone had questioned Carson Wentz’s toughness, but there’s definitely no doubt after this season.

Wentz played through a back issue for weeks, then a stress fracture in his back was finally diagnosed by the Philadelphia Eagles. But Wentz was undeterred. He reportedly wanted to still play.

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John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported, citing a source, that Wentz wanted to play despite the injury. It doesn’t seem that will happen, because another doctor agreed with the Eagles that rest is best for Wentz. But just the fact he hadn’t given up on the Eagles’ season speaks volumes.

Eagles need to be careful with Carson Wentz

Clark’s report said that when the Eagles went to Los Angeles last week to face the Rams, Wentz saw another specialist, apparently in hopes of getting the opinion he could play. That specialist agreed he should rest.

Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz (11) wanted to play despite a back injury. (AP)

There’s a lot of factors in play. Wentz is still very early in his career so the Eagles want to be careful. At 7-7, they’re not exactly Super Bowl contenders. Nick Foles played well in place of Wentz last week. Even if Wentz wanted to return — Derek Carr and Tony Romo are a pair of quarterbacks who have played through fractures in their backs recently — there are more reasons for the Eagles to tell him to get healthy for 2019.

“We’re going to trust the medical staff,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Friday, according to NJ.com. “It’s one of those deals. You have to make sure that there won’t be any setbacks if we put him back out there.”

Wentz has had significant injuries before

Last season, Wentz tore his ACL against the Rams diving into the end zone. That touchdown was called back, and Wentz stayed in the game the rest of that series. He threw a touchdown on his final play, with a torn ACL.

Wentz also had a separate stress fracture in his back when he was redshirting at North Dakota State, ESPN reported.

Wentz has shown he’s more than willing to play through injuries. The real question is over Wentz’s durability. He has dealt with significant injuries in all three of his NFL seasons (he suffered a rib fracture in the preseason of his rookie season).

That’s a good reason for the Eagles to not consider bringing Wentz back, though he wanted to play some more this season.