Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson officially named rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts the starting quarterback for the team’s week 14 matchup against the New Orleans Saints.
This move by Pederson means Carson Wentz will be the team’s backup quarterback this week.
The decision by Pederson was not a surprising one since Wentz is having by far the worst season of his career, and has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the entire league throughout 2020.
Wentz leads the league with 15 interceptions, is 31st in completion percentage, leads the league in sacks, and is 30th in quarterback rating.
Pederson benched Wentz in the second half of the Eagles 30-16 loss last week to the Green Bay Packers. Wentz went 6 of 15 and passed for 79 yards before being pulled from the game. The rookie quarterback, to his credit, provided the lethargic Eagles offense with a jolt of energy once he took the field. Hurts went 5 of 12 and passed for 109 yards with one touchdown in last Sunday’s game.
With the decision of the Eagles to bench their franchise quarterback, the team is in dire straits. Wentz is both expensive and playing the worst football of his career. Far from an ideal situation for Philadelphia.
Wentz still has four years and $100 million left on his contract, and the Eagles have seemingly no way out from under what looks to be a crippling contract. If Philadelphia was to cut Wentz after the 2020 season, it would lead to $59 million in dead cap money and a $34 million cap hit for the 2021 season.
The only way the Eagles can salvage this situation is if they can get another NFL team to take a chance on Wentz and wipe the Wentz slate completely clean. The way that Wentz has looked this season, it is highly unlikely that any coach or general manager would stick their neck out for what is a rapidly depreciating asset.
The Eagles must help Wentz regain his confidence, and his MVP form, or they will have a backup quarterback in Wentz making tens of millions of dollars heading into next season.
Hurts’ audition with the Eagles will not be easy. The rookie will still have to contend with a terrible offensive line, a dearth of skill position talent, and an injury-riddled team.
The Eagles were not left with no chance but to sit Wentz down, and this will allow them to decide if Hurts is a franchise quarterback, or if the team must start from scratch at the sport’s most important position.
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