Philadelphia Eagles News: Will Carson Wentz Play In The Playoffs?

The Philadelphia Eagles have a bit of a dilemma heading into their wild card matchup with the Chicago Bears. Backup quarterback Nick Foles will start, as expected, but if the Eagles win and advance, can starter Carson Wentz take the field for the defending Super Bowl champions?

Head coach Doug Pederson refused to eliminate the possibility of Wentz coming back during the postseason in comments to the media over the weekend. The third-year franchise quarterback was never put on injured reserve, so he could theoretically come back if the Eagles cleared him to practice.

Pederson merely said the team would get back to everyone on that.

“We will evaluate [Wentz] next monday,” Pederson said.

Wentz will not practice this week, as third-stringer Nate Sudfeld will back up Foles against Chicago. Foles left Sunday’s victory against Washington with bruised ribs, which led to Sudfeld seeing the field and throwing his first career touchdown pass.

Given the initial prognosis after Wentz suffered a stress fracture in his back in December, it seems unlikely that he would play again this year, regardless of how far the Eagles advance. Pederson said Wentz could need three months to fully recover at the time.

Still, the Eagles keeping him on the active roster means they might think there is a possibility he could play again. They are in a more fortunate position than most playoff teams would be, as their backup quarterback won the Super Bowl MVP award last February.

Wentz had completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 3,074 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions when he got hurt.