NFL: Carson Wentz $ign$ historic deal; will it pay off for the Philadelphia Eagles?

The Philadelphia Eagles, at least two years before they needed to, rewarded quarterback Carson Wentz with a new contract with over $100 million of guaranteed money.

Wentz was already under contract for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The new deal keeps him with the Eagles through the 2024 season. According to various reports the deal contains over $128 million of “new’’ money, including $107 million in guaranteed money.

The Eagles are currently 15-1 to win the 2020 Super Bowl, the seventh best odds of the 32 teams. They are 8-1 to win the NFC, the fourth best odds, and the 11-10 favorites to win their division, the NFC East.

In 2017 Wentz was on his way to a possible Most Valuable Player award when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in his knee and missed the final month of the regular season and the playoffs. Under backup quarterback Nick Foles, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Eagles won Super Bowl 52.

Minneapolis, MN/USA- February 1, 2018. A fan wears the jersey of injured Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz in a mall. Source: Shutterstock.

Last season Wentz missed the first two games of the season recovering from the knee injury, but came back in week three. The team was 6-7 and seeming out of the playoffs when Wentz suffered a back injury. Again Foles came off the bench to win the last three games of the season and a playoff win over the Chicago Bears.

With Foles gone, it’s on Wentz to stay healthy and deliver to show the team was right to give him the new contract.

Head coach Doug Pederson said Wentz, during the team’s spring OTA, looks as he did before the injuries.    

“Yeah, I mean, gosh,’’ Pederson said. “He’s strong. His lower body is strong. His arm is strong. You are seeing the things that we saw a couple of years ago when he was healthy, obviously. He’s leading the offense, leading the team, and really doing a nice job out there.

“I’ve been real impressed with where Carson is. We just wanted to make sure he was progressing each day, and we’ve increased his load. He’s handled it well. Again, we’re always going to be a little bit guarded. With all our players, but especially him. Yeah, he’s been good.’’