Did Doug Pederson drop a hint about Carson Wentz’s future on Friday?
Pederson was asked specifically about Wentz at his first Zoom presser of 2021 and responded that the biggest priority of the Eagles’ offseason was “getting things fixed.”
He quickly broadened the scope of the answer to include the rest of the team, but he sure sounded like someone who expects Wentz to be here throughout the offseason.
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“I’ve got a ton of confidence in Carson Wentz and always have, and our offseason is going to be geared toward getting things fixed as quarterbacks and obviously as a team,” he said. “And that falls on my shoulders, so that’s going to be our motivation moving into this offseason.”
Pederson continues to speak as if he’ll be here in 2021, which is certainly the most likely scenario at this point.
“I expect to be here in 2021 and until something else happens,” he said. “That’s the confidence I have in my ability and that’s how I’m going to approach the next few days.”
As far as Wentz goes, Pederson indicated several times that he anticipates working with Wentz throughout the offseason.
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“I think these last four games have really allowed Carson to just kind of take a step back and just evaluate and just see and work on some things that we’ve helped him with and things that we continue to help him with as we move forward,” he said.
Now, there are a lot of moving pieces here that could complicate things.
Will there be changes in the front office? Does Jeff Lurie actually have other plans regarding Pederson? And there’s always the possibility Wentz is here throughout the offseason and is then traded after training camp if Jalen Hurts establishes himself as the starter.
Heck, the Quarterback Factory could even draft another QB. Who knows?
But it was revealing to hear Pederson speak of fixing Wentz as a main priority of the offseason.
It’s the first real indication that Pederson is thinking as if Wentz will be here beyond March, when the Eagles have to pay him a $10 million bonus.
Pederson also made it clear that quarterback isn’t the only area that needs fixing, but he finished by circling back to Wentz and the quarterback position.
“You could say anything and say we’ve got to fix that spot,” he said. “I’m hoping to have an offseason program this year where we can get our guys back out on the football field and really work and I think that’s where you lay the foundation going into next season. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly one spot. I do know we’re going to continue to work with our quarterbacks. We’re going to get them all right. We’re going to get them all headed in the right direction.”
Nate Sudfeld isn't under contract for next year, Josh McCown is now with the Texans, and there are no other quarterbacks on the roster. So when Pederson says "all of them," there's only two people he could be talking about.
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