Carson Wentz has a fresh start with the Indianapolis Colts, less than a year removed from a nightmare season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia drafted Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft less than a year after making Wentz the highest-paid player in NFL history, which started a chain reaction of poor play by the player that was once the Eagles' franchise quarterback.
The final nail in the coffin was Wentz being benched by the Eagles in Week 13 in favor of Hurts, which turned out to be his last snap in Philadelphia. The Eagles traded Wentz to the Colts this offseason, as both parties needed a fresh start.
"I really feel like I have a new passion for the game," Wentz said to Beth Hoole of Valley News Live. "I've been the high, I've been injured, I've been, now, benched, I've been traded, I've kinda seen a lot in five years, so whatever the game throws at me I'm ready. It's given me a new level of excitement....It's reinvigorated my passion for the game."
Wentz will look to erase a disastrous 2020 season from his mind, a season in which he admitted "football was a lot less personal" due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The results showed on the field, as Wentz completed just 57.4% of his passes for 2,620 yards with 16 touchdowns to 15 interceptions in 13 games. Among the 35 qualifying quarterbacks, Wentz was 34th in completion percentage, 24th in touchdown percentage (3.7), 34th in interception percentage (3.4), 34th in yards per attempt (6.0), and 34th in passer rating (72.8).
The Wentz era in Philadelphia didn't end the way he wanted, even though the quarterback played an integral part in the Eagles winning their first Super Bowl title. As Wentz enters the next chapter of his football career, he looks at his time in Philadelphia as an opportunity for growth.
"There's a lot of unknown and uncertainty coming out of college to getting thrown into a city like Philadelphia and the NFL and the lifestyle, just all of those things," Wentz said. "Now, being in the NFL for five years, I'm one of the older guys and I'm a veteran. I've seen it, I know what to expect, I know, kinda, what's gonna be thrown my way so it's something that I can really just focus on playing ball."
