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Report: Carson Wentz Had Separate Stress Fracture Injury in Back Before College
December 19, 2018
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz reportedly suffered a stress fracture in his back during adolescence that was revealed during his redshirt freshman season of college with the North Dakota State Bison. The injury was also included in his medical report given to teams at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine.
On Tuesday, Tim McManus of ESPN.com reported the injury was "completely healed" by the time Wentz, who's currently sidelined with a separate stress fracture in his back, reached the collegiate level.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said last Friday the injury has "evolved over time," and while the quarterback won't need surgery, it's likely going to take three months for a complete recovery, per McManus.
Wentz missed the first two games of Philly's championship defense while finishing his rehab from a torn ACL suffered last December. Now he's expected to miss the final three contests of the regular season, which includes last week's 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams, with the latest ailment.
The 25-year-old North Carolina native shined between the injuries. He completed a career-best 69.6 percent of his throws for 3,074 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 11 appearances.
Pederson praised Wentz for remaining active with the team, especially backup quarterback Nick Foles, during its win over the Rams.
"Listen, he's such a competitor and he's won a bunch of games for us here and he will continue to win a bunch of games for us," Pederson told reporters. "The thing is with Carson, as much as a competitor, he's so giving of himself. You saw him in the game last night, how engaging he was with myself. He was engaging with Nick and very supportive that way, as tough as it is and that's a credit to him."
Foles, who captured Super Bowl MVP honors while filling in for Wentz last season, will likely guide the offense for the final two games of the regular season.
The 7-7 Eagles are still alive in the playoff race, sitting one game behind the Dallas Cowboys for the NFC East lead and a half-game back of the Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card race.