Reports surfaced this weekend that Doug Pederson will return for his sixth season as the Eagles head coach and one of his former players thinks that’s the right move.
Former Eagle and NBC Sports Washington analyst Torrey Smith thinks Pederson can turn around an Eagles team that finished in last place in the NFC East.
“I think he can,” Smith said. “I’m not surprised at all by that report. He deserved that opportunity. Things have been tough in Philadelphia the past couple of years. A lot of it has been due to injuries and that tends to add to poor play. But Coach Pederson is the right man to lead this ship.”
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When asked about Pederson’s losing record since the Super Bowl, Smith pointed at key injuries in 2020. That’s something Pederson did just last week.
Meanwhile, a report about Carson Wentz surfaced from ESPN on Sunday, saying Wentz is expected to ask for a trade out of Philadelphia this offseason.
Smith played with Wentz just one year, in 2017, and watched Wentz play at a near-MVP level.
“I’m not one to believe all reports. Being a guy that’s been in the locker room, you never know where it’s coming from,” Smith said. “But if it was indeed true that he wanted a trade, sometimes you do want … when you’ve actually been benched. I mean, as a player I understand that. Like, ‘Hey, I want to get a fresh start somewhere else.’
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“But I also know Carson Wentz as well. He’s not a quitter, he loves the city of Philadelphia and he’s also a person who believes in himself and understands how talented he is. And that ship could be righted. And I believe he can be the man to lead Philadelphia and this four weeks probably gave him an opportunity to have a different perspective. We’ll see what happens and what Carson says. Until I hear from Carson, everything else is just noise to me.”
Smith said that if he were in charge of the Eagles, he never would have benched Wentz. He would have stuck with him.
But that doesn’t mean Smith hasn’t been impressed by some of the things Jalen Hurts has been able to do in his first three starts. And he said he thinks Hurts has “franchise quarterback potential.”
“Now with that being said, you put him in and you allow him to grow, it’s going to take some time,” Smith said. “You’re still going to have to give him room to grow like Carson did his second year. It’s not just this easy fix, ‘Hey we’re switching the quarterback, we’re all of a sudden going to go back to the Super Bowl.’ It’s not that simple.
“But if they decide to move on from Carson and keep Jalen Hurts, I hope that they pour all the resources into him and the city gives him the time he needs to develop and grow. Because he has the potential. He’s been a winner. He understands it. You watch the way he leads naturally. He looks great out there and I’m excited for the opportunity that he’s had these past few games he’s had to play.”
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