The veteran backup quarterback carousel has suddenly sped up on Carson Wentz.
Since entering the league as the No. 2 overall pick of the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2016, the high-water mark of Wentz’s career came when he vaulted to the top of the MVP race the following season only to tear his ACL in Week 14 and ultimately watching backup Nick Foles hoist the Lombardi Trophy that February before spending time on three teams in the past three seasons.
Now, Wentz has his best chance yet to win his second Super Bowl ring, as Patrick Mahomes’ backup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“We’re still early,” Wentz told ESPN shortly before the Chiefs ended their offseason practice. “We’re only in here a handful of hours every day and a couple days a week and it’s not quite the grind that it will be. So that’ll keep evolving and kind of how I find my place, so to speak. But Pat and I already have a great relationship and that’ll keep growing and I’ll keep finding ways I can help.
“I’ll find a way to help him whatever way I can, whether that’s off the field, on the field, whatever.”
Wentz drew criticism during his tenure in Philadelphia for alienating teammates and being reticent to hard coaching, but, perhaps landing in a situation where he is the understudy to three-time Super Bowl MVP and two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes will make it easier to embrace being a veteran backup at this stage of his career.
“It’s different,” Wentz told ESPN. “I’m not going to lie.
“I’m trying to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can, formulate a relationship with all these guys and just keep getting better on the field . . . You’ve got to always be ready to go when called upon, so it’s no different in that regard.”
Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz (11) and the team lose a close one to the Tennessee Titans 21-17 at FedEx Field October 9, 2022.
(Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)
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