The year is 2018 and Carson Wentz just finished 3^rd in the NFL MVP voting, despite missing three games, including the playoffs, due to an injury. Heralded as a bright young star with potential of making the Philadelphia Eagles a dynasty, as he led them to the number one overall seed in the NFC North.

Five seasons later Carson Wentz finds himself cut, with his NFL starter career on the fritz.

After just one season with the Commanders, on Monday, February 27^th, Carson Wentz was released in a move that saved the Washington Commanders, $26.176 million against the cap.

Now to say this wasn’t an expected move would be unreasonable, as this move is as obvious as they come. Nevertheless, it still marks a significant turning point in a once promising career.

The former number two overall pick thrived in his first few seasons in the NFL, making it to the Pro Bowl in just his second season. Since his magical 2017 campaign however, Wentz struggled to consistently put together a successful playoff caliber season similar to the season he had in 2017. In the season following the Eagles Super Bowl victory, in which Philadelphia famously won without their QB1, Wentz won only five of the 11 games he played. During these games Carson looked like a vastly different player than the year before.

The following season he had a brief improvement, winning nine of 16 games, and receiving a nomination for comeback player of the year. In the 2020 season, his cards quickly flipped. In 2020, Wentz won just three of his twelve games he started, and eventually was benched in week 13 for second round pick, Jalen Hurts.

This marked the end for Carson in Philadelphia but not the end of his career… yet. Wentz was then traded to the Colts that following offseason for a 2021 third round pick, and a conditional 2022 second round pick. He had shown flashes of success with the Colts but with a team and roster ready to win, taking just nine out of their 17 games, and missing the playoffs seemed like a major disappointment.

Wentz was finally traded to the Commanders, and he struggled to stay healthy and retain his job, competing with the likes of Taylor Heinicke and Sam Howell. Wentz finished his short time in Washington just 2-5.

So where does this leave Carson Wentz? With his career on the decline, and his health and production both major concerns, is Wentz’s days as QB1 officially over?

I would hold out hope. With many teams in desperate need of a QB this offseason, Wentz could sneak his way on to an unlucky team that misses out on the few highly sought-after options, in the coming weeks.

A few teams to look out for in a possible move to acquire the veteran would be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Las Vegas Raiders, and the New York Jets.

After Tom Brady’s recent retirement, the Bucs are left with only a young Kyle Trask on the roster, and bringing in a veteran presence, such as Wentz, could help to develop the Bucs young QB room.

Next for the Raiders, after moving on from Carr, and expressing that they are not interested in dealing for Rodgers, it could leave the Raiders in a tough position. Depending on the team’s confidence in Jarrett Stidham, committing to a cheap, short-term deal with a veteran like Wentz, could be a viable option for Vegas.

As for the Jets, with the 13^th pick in the draft, if they are unsuccessful at scoring a big-ticket quarterback such as Rodgers or Carr, they could resort to Wentz, to pose a training camp battle with underperforming, Zach Wilson.

So, with the door closing on Carson Wentz’s career, should he be given another chance? Let us know on Twitter @WeLikeSportzPC.

– Riley Bry

*photo courtesy of DraftKings Nation*