Carson Wentz Returning from Injury to Start 2018 Season Reportedly 'Realistic'

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has a "realistic" chance of returning for next season's opening game after suffering a torn ACL and LCL this season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. 

Per that report, "Surgeon Dr. James Bradley, who did the operation, informed Wentz that barring a setback he should be able to do some work in training camp and be ready for the season."

"I should be good. Should be good," Wentz added last week.

Wentz, 25, tore his ACL and LCL in the team's Dec. 10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams and had surgery to repair the injuries on Dec. 13. As Rapoport noted, such injuries normally have a recovery time of around nine months, with a player returning to full strength at one year.

As a source told Rapoport, "nine months gets us to September. Then it'll be 12 months until he really looks the same."

Because of the addition of the LCL tear, Wentz has taken his rehab slowly and will begin "weight-bearing exercises with his brace unlocked for the first time since being placed on injured reserve" on Wednesday. 

"Doing well," Wentz said last week, per Rapoport. "Just hitting the goals the doctors set. The rest of it is fluid and how your body responds."

When healthy, Wentz was arguably the front-runner for the league MVP award (eventually won by New England's Tom Brady for a third time) before his season came to an abrupt end. Despite his injury, Wentz still received two votes in the balloting, though well behind Brady (40) and Rams running back Todd Gurley (eight).

He threw for 3,296 yards, 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions in 13 games this season, completing 60.2 percent of his passes and leading the Eagles to an 11-2 record in games he appeared in. He was just one of several key Eagles who have been lost for the season due to injury. That list includes offensive tackle Jason Peters, linebacker Jordan Hicks, running back Darren Sproles and special teams ace Chris Maragos.

No loss was bigger than Wentz, however. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Nick Foles, who has since led the Eagles to Sunday night's Super Bowl against the Patriots. 

"This is a little bittersweet," Wentz admitted of the team's postseason run, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.

"It's definitely different, just knowing the extent of the injury and how long it’s going to take to get back," he added. "But our team's been rolling, and it’s been so cool to see everybody elevate their level of play week in and week out to get this far, and overcome all of the injuries that we’ve had. Three of our five captains are on injured reserve, but here we are. We’re in the Super Bowl."