The Indianapolis Colts’ decision to trade for Carson Wentz this offseason was questioned by fans for multiple reasons, with the two most popular being his durability concerns and that he was coming off the worst statistical year of his career.
While we wouldn’t go as far as to call Wentz injury prone (the Eagles certainly did him no favors with their offensive line), it’s understandable why fans harp on the fact he’s played 68 of a possible 80 regular season games over his first five seasons.
Luckily for Wentz, however, he’s now part of a Colts team that flaunts one of the best offensive lines in the league. That should go a long way towards keeping him upright, but the former No. 2 overall pick simply has to learn to live another down.
What do we mean by that? There have been far too many instances where Wentz endured a totally unnecessary hit because he was trying to extend a broken play. That’s a habit he must break, and hopefully being reunited with Frank Reich will help expedite that learning curve.
Carson Wentz injury history
Believe it or not, Wentz managed to get through the entire 2020 season without suffering an injury. Unfortunately for him, however, almost every impact player on the Eagles roster was ravaged by the injury bug and his play suffered the consequences. The Colts star was ultimately benched in favor of rookie Jalen Hurts in Week 12 and the rest is history.
Carson Wentz Concussion, 2019 playoffs
Though Wentz was an MVP candidate in 2017, there’s a debate to be had whether his best campaign came in 2019, when he led a decimated Eagles team to the playoffs thanks to a four-game winning streak to finish the season that culminated with a win over Dallas in Week 17 to clinch the division crown.
Wentz appeared in all 16 games that year, but his luck was short-lived in the playoffs. Facing off against the Seahawks in the Wild Card round, the now-Colts QB completed just one of four passes before Jadeveon Clowney knocked him out of the game with a concussion on a late hit that set social media ablaze.
Wentz was replaced by Josh McCown, who became the oldest quarterback ever to make a postseason debut and he wasn’t able to play hero as the Seahawks won 16-9. The injury confirmed Wentz still hasn’t made it through the first quarter of a playoff game.
Carson Wentz Stress Fracture in Back, 2018
If you can believe it, it remains unclear when Wentz suffered a stress fracture in his back that ended his 2018 season earlier than expected. Phrases like “evolved over time” and “heal on its own” were used to describe the injury before head coach Doug Pederson confirmed it was, in fact, a stress fracture that would require three months of recovery.
In our eyes, it isn’t outlandish to assume the Eagles’ decision to play Wentz through a back injury (!) might’ve been what started the downfall of their relationship. Whatever the case, Wentz missed the rest of the season and Philly’s title defense ended with a second-round playoff exit at the hands of the Saints.
It’s worth noting that Wentz also suffered a stress fracture in his back during his college days at North Dakota State. The injury was on his Combine medical report and obviously had no impact on his draft status, but the fact he suffered the same injury within a multi-year span had Eagles fans concerned if he’d ever live up to his potential.
#Eagles HC Doug Pederson says QB Carson Wentz has a stress fracture in his back. No surgery required. He'll be listed as questionable for Sunday night vs the #LARams.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 14, 2018
Carson Wentz Torn ACL and LCL, 2017
Who could forget this one?
Widely considered the MVP favorite for most of 2017, Wentz had his second season ended after he suffered a Grade 3 tear of the ACL and LCL in a Week 14 win over the Rams. He ended up missing the rest of the regular season and playoffs, as well as the first two games of 2019.
As fans will recall, Wentz suffered the injury diving into the end zone on a heroic scramble that ended with him sandwiched between a pair of Rams defenders. What made the injury so peculiar was that the second-year QB was able to walk off the field under is own power, which you almost never see with major knee injuries.
To add literal insult to injury, the touchdown was called back due to a Lane Johnson holding penalty and backup quarterback Nick Foles pulled off one of the most improbable runs in sports history by carrying the Eagles to their first championship in franchise history after they defeated Tom Brady and the Patriots in a 41-33 thriller.
At that point, Wentz had to know he wasn’t long for Philadelphia…right?
Carson Wentz Rib Hairline Fracture, 2016
Wentz’s injury history actually dates back to the preseason of his rookie year, when he was diagnosed with hairline fracture in his rib after taking a hit against the Buccaneers. Though he missed the entire preseason, he managed to play all 16 games of the regular season, completing 64.2% of his passes for 3,787 yards and 16 touchdowns to 14 interceptions.
Carson Wentz Broken Wrist, 2015
In terms of other injuries Wentz suffered in college, he went under the knife to repair a broken wrist in his throwing arm at the start of his senior year at North Dakota State.
Wentz missed eight weeks of action while rehabbing the injury, but returned to practice in December and was cleared to play in the FCS National Championship Game for the Bison, who defeated Eastern Illinois 29-27 thanks to a Wentz touchdown run with less than a minute remaining in regulation.
That wraps it up, folks. That took longer than we would have hoped, so lets’ hope the Colts’ infrastructure helps Wentz put his durability concerns to bed on a permanent basis.
Colts: Soak in first look at Carson Wentz under center in Indy uniform
It's here! Indianapolis Colts QB Carson Wentz has reached mini-camp and he's slinging heat with his teammates. Frank Reich is ready.