Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has been cleared for contact and will start against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3, according to ESPN .
This news has been a long time coming for the Superbowl champs.
Wentz, an MVP candidate before he tore his ACL and LCL against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 10, has been the subject of speculation for Eagles fans in the early weeks of this season.
Wentz was a regular-season MVP candidate in 2017 before his knee injury derailed his season. He finished second in the NFL with 33 touchdown passes despite missing the last three-plus games.
ACL recovery usually takes nine months to a year. The nine-month mark from the date of Wentz’s surgery was last Thursday.
Wentz has appeared strong and healthy, moving well in pre-game warm-ups and, according to the Eagles organization, has been ahead on his rehab all offseason.
The team, however, must have decided to be safe and hold Wentz out until they were 100 percent confident he’d return at full strength.
Since Wentz injury, Nick Foles has been the Eagles starter.
Foles led the team through the playoffs last season, putting up historic numbers and eventually being named the Superbowl MVP in the team’s first time capturing a Lombardi trophy.
Without question, Foles earned a permanent spot in the heart of every Philadelphia Eagles fan with his campaign last season, along with a statue outside the stadium in Philly, per NBC Sports .
Foles has started both games this season and has looked unconvincing, to say the least.
In two games, Foles has completed 54 of 82 passes, throwing for 451 yards along with a touchdown and an interception.
The @Eagles announced that quarterback Carson Wentz ( @cj_wentz ) will make his first start of the season since tearing ligaments in his knee last December. https://t.co/QOg6nR1lk9
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) September 17, 2018
“Anytime you get one of your starters back, it’s great,” coach Doug Pederson told reporters at his day-after press conference. “I’m excited to get him back out there. But at the same time, it’s not about one guy and we can’t lose sight of that.”
With Wentz back as an NFL starter, Pederson told reporters he doesn’t plan to alter his play-calling much even while Wentz gets back into the groove of things.
“The thing is, I’m not going to coach scared, I’m not going to coach paranoid, I’m not going to go in thinking, ‘Oh, no, we can’t do this or we can’t do that,’ we just have to continue to go play and I’ve got to coach that way.”
Wentz himself is clearly happy to be back as well, posting a tweet in honor of his comeback.
That “I’m back” feeling ?? #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/0VFEAX8KsK
— Carson Wentz (@cj_wentz) September 17, 2018
