Carson Wentz will be a full participant in practice for the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, he "will be on the field Week 1."
"Will be on the field" doesn't necessarily mean "will start." We'll see soon enough.
Here is where we will make the obligatory mention that the Eagles traded Wentz to the Colts for a second-round pick that can become a first-round pick if either of the following two things occur:
- Wentz plays 75 percent of the Colts' offensive snaps in 2021.
- Wentz plays 70 percent of the Colts' offensive snaps in 2021, and the Colts qualify for the playoffs.
As such, Wentz's full participation in practice and potential return for Week 1 is outstanding news for the Eagles.
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Wentz's initial timeframe for recovery after he had surgery on his foot was 5-12 weeks. If he does indeed play Week 1, he will have returned in 5 weeks.
Of course, that does not mean that Wentz's foot is 100 percent, and it could hamper him throughout the season. For a player who (a) instinctively looks to extend plays with his feet, often to a fault, and (b) already has mechanical issues stemming from shaky footwork even when healthy, being saddled by an injury such as this is a lot more damaging to a quarterback like Wentz than it would be for, say, Philip Rivers, a quick-decision pocket quarterback who played through lower body injuries for the Colts a season ago.
If you're an extreme optimist from an Eagles fan perspective, you might start to put the following formula together in your head:
- Wentz plays through the injury, and starts Week 1.
- He's bad, and as a result, so are the Colts, but he continues to play.
- He meets the playing time percentage threshold, and the Colts have a bad record, so the Eagles get a high first round pick. 🎉
There seems to be renewed hope for that scenario.
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