PHILADELPHIA – Carson Wentz is back.

He may not be ready to leap right back into league MVP form, and he still is not cleared for contact and he does still have a large brace on his left knee. But for as much as he could display during the Philadelphia Eagles first training camp practice – with a mundane script and limited work between the offense and defense – Wentz looked, by and large, like the same quarterback he was prior to tearing his knee ligaments late in the season and having to watch Nick Foles lead the franchise to its first Super Bowl win. On Thursday he watched Foles work with the starters once more, but this time he was just a few feet away waiting to join the huddle himself, his full recovery from surgery now closer than ever.

Wentz showed no outward signs of discomfort and seems spy and limber during drills and stretching. He ran and cut and stopped and started, more or less same as everyone else. Drills weren't exactly being run at full game-day speed, but Wentz looked as explosive as you could hope for on some rollouts and his ball had ample zip on it and he was able to maneuver well during two relatively pedestrian 11-on-11 sessions. It was certainly enough to send the locals here into full-blown handwringing over whether it will be Wentz or Foles to take the first snap of this title-defense season in Week 1, and it set the stage for what will be six weeks of quarterback-driven questions for head coach Doug Pederson. But most of all, it was a signal of just how dangerous these Eagles might be, with Wentz's return sending a Super Bowl MVP to the bench, and with former standout left tackle Jason Peters and running back/return dervish Darren Sproles also taking regular work as they return from season-ending injuries as well.

"I thought he was comfortable," Pederson said. "He did some nice things today. It was very, very limited, obviously. We didn't do that much, maybe 30 offensive plays, But he was good. A good first start."

Wentz seems largely pleased with not just how today's two hours on the field played out, but in essence everything that has transpired since the Eagles began their OTA work roughly two months ago.

"I was excited just to be out there today and running around with the guys," Wentz said. "We'll just progress from there."

So far, everything has gone according to plan. Wentz, Pederson and the team's medical staff have been in close consultation all offseason and the huge, strapping quarterback has hit all targets thus far. That dialogue and determining how Wentz's mind and body are doing on a daily basis is ongoing. "He and I are married to this deal," Pederson opined.

The expectation was that he would see how seven-on-seven drills went in the spring with an eye towards being able to participate with full team drills once camp opened. There was never any indication of anything other than steady progress towards that, which had the players and coaches quite puzzled around here about an erroneous NFL Media report about Wentz being under serious consideration to open camp on the Physically Unable To Perform list.

"I have no idea where that came from," said Pederson, who appeared genuinely incredulous about it. "I have no idea where that came from." For his part, Wentz contended there had not been a single conversation that he knew of about the prospect of him starting on the PUP list, let alone any real consideration of it. So far so good.

Where it goes from here will be determined on Wentz's health and how his knee responds to more work, what the doctors say and how he looks on film as the coaches dissect these practices. Pederson stressed that he is no hurry to make a decision about Week 1 and there is no reason to be worrying about that now, figuring he had a good three weeks before he had to start determining the workload to get his Week 1 starter ready.

But given the magnitude of this situation and the severity of Wentz's injury and the remarkable run that Foles led this team on in the postseason in his absence, the weekly happening at Eagles' camp or any fluctuation of the depth chart at the QB position is going to make national news. This isn't going away, and will be a daily subject of concern and consideration among the fans and media as this summer rolls on.

Pederson, of course, tried to caution not to read too much into what order players were doing drills ("I'm not going to get caught up in reps and who is getting what," the coach said.  It's just too early.") But everything will be chronicled and its worth noting that on Thursday Wentz looked just fine running those RPOs and throwing to either sideline and making the routine stuff look, well, routine. Of course, no one is chasing him in the backfield yet and he isn't having to sprint to keep the ball on designed runs and avoid being crushed by oncoming defenders yet, either.

"I like where I'm at right now," Wentz said, "and I think the plan that we've had is a good one."

Wentz has been rigidly focused on trying to get back from this moment from shortly after he crumbled in a heap after absorbing a vicious hit against the Rams while trying to run for a touchdown in December. At the time, he was perhaps the greatest duel threat in the game, a powerhouse with the ball in his hands and an elite passer of the football whether in the pocket or outside of it. He was right there with Tom Brady for the MVP consideration, and, with Aaron Rodgers missing almost of the year and all the hits catching up with Russell Wilson down the stretch, a healthy Wentz just might have taken home that award and the Super Bowl MVP as well.

No one who knows him doubted he would do everything within his power to be back as soon as possible, including continuing his rehab and recovery after while getting married. "Even on the honeymoon I got some workouts in … in the fitness center," he clarified. Like everyone else, Wentz didn't want to commit to a firm timetable on when he would be cleared for practice or if he would play in a preseason game, but the one date he did repeat several times was Sept. 6, which is when the Eagles open their season in a Thursday night playoff rematch with the Falcons.

"My goal is September 6," he said.

I wouldn't bet against him, and, when healthy, the idea of a quarterback controversy seems trite, even with Foles having produced that magical January and February. The Eagles traded a bonanza of picks to move up and select Wentz second-overall two years ago, he had their offense humming at an amazing level and he is every bit the present and the future. Foles, for his part, is uniquely equipped to handle what could be another yo-yo season, having gone from one year wonder as a starter under Chip Kelly in hist stint in Philadelphia, to a journeyman to nearly out of the league to a guy who didn't seem up for the task when first thrust in for Wentz, to eventually Super Bowl MVP.

So Foles is being honest when he says he isn't caught up in what his role is or how much longer he will be the guy getting the first-team reps. "No one knows my label," Foles said, "and it's sort of been that way for a long time … And I don't care." As for the likely prospect of winning a championship for a city as starved for one as any in the league, and then going back to a back-up, it takes more than that to rattle Foles.

"I've had such a crazy journey that has healed me in this moment," Foles said at one point, sounded beyond grounded and almost Zen-like through much of his interaction with the media Thursday. "I think I just lean on what I have gone through in my life," he offered another time when asked how he handles being in this sort of football purgatory.

Then again, more twists could be ahead. If Wentz keeps being Wentz, and other teams suffer injuries to their quarterbacks (and we know some will), then Foles could still be a substantial trade chip, and few general managers are as adept at swinging them as Howie Roseman, who orchestrated a fleecing of sorts from the Vikings for Sam Bradford right around this time in 2016, when Wentz was supposed to ride the bench his rookie season. The Eagles have grown increasingly comfortable with third-string quarterback Nick Sudfeld as a depth guy, and there will never be a better time to sell high on Foles.

By Sept. 6, perhaps only one of these two quarterbacks are still here. And I think in that scenario, we all know which one that would be.