PHILADELPHIA--With quarterback Carson Wentz facing a possible season-ending injury the Philadelphia Eagles turn again to the man who stepped in brilliantly last season and led the team to their maiden Super Bowl triumph.
Wentz, who late last year suffered a season-ending ACL injury, missed practice this week and has a fractured vertebrae according to media reports that was only discovered this week. He could be shut down for the year with the team's playoff hopes on thin ice.
"Carson, he's going to handle it like a champ. He's one of the best quarterbacks in the league and he's the best young quarterback in the league," said Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews.
"He knows who he is, he knows what he brings to the table and he knows what he means to this team. It just sucks that he can't play right now."
Wentz was downgraded to doubtful on the official injury report released after 4 p.m. ET on Friday a stress fracture in his back. Earlier in the day, head coach Doug Pederson announced Wentz would be listed as questionable for Sunday's game despite never taking the practice field this week.
Wentz, who was on the field lightly jogging the past two days, is expected to give way to Nick Foles at quarterback when the Eagles visit the Rams on Sunday.
Heavily frustrated with the media during a question and answer session Friday, Pederson said that Wentz will need up to three months for a complete recovery. The team is measuring whether Wentz could do significant damage by playing in a game with the injury.
"He has a stress injury that evolved over time and it won't require surgery," Pederson said.
NFL players have taken the field with known back injuries, especially the compression fracture known as transverse process. That injury is considered less serious.
"If we put him out there, there has to be 100 percent that there is no risk of anything further," Pederson said.
Foles took over late last season and steered the Eagles to an upset Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots and was named Most Valuable Player in the process. "Nick is the Super Bowl MVP. He'll be all right," said Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins.
Foles will be taking over a very different Eagles squad than he did last season. When Foles stepped in a year ago, the Eagles boasted an 11-2 record and were well on their way to securing a division title and home-field advantage in the conference playoffs.
But now the Eagles are 6-7 with an offense that is a shadow of the well-oiled machine from last season. It would need a lot of things to go their way over their final three games to secure a playoff berth.
Foles has not thrown a pass in a game since the second week of the season while Wentz was still recovering but his team mates have full confidence in him being up to the task. "I just want everyone to know that everyone's got full confidence in the guy," said Eagles tight end Zach Ertz. "We just want him to be himself."
