PHILADELPHIA _ In 2016, his rookie season, Carson Wentz ran 30 times. The quarterback avoided contact on only 12 rushes and was flat-out tackled to the ground, like any ball carrier, a dozen times.
During film review, Eagles coaches would instruct Wentz to be more cautious when running. The headstrong quarterback brushed off the advice, however, as he did so many defenders.
"It definitely went in one ear and out the other early on," former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich said recently. "It didn't go exactly like this, but this is just made up to protect the innocent, or protect the guilty, however you say it: We would say to him, 'Hey, you just need to kind of back off on some of this tackling stuff.'
"And he didn't quite say it like this, but it was essentially, 'No, I'm not backing off. This is me. This is how I play.' "
Reich said that Wentz heeded his coaches' counsel more during his second season, but the numbers don't exactly support that claim. In 39 runs in 2017, he evaded contact only 13 times. Wentz's last dash ended in ruin when a collision at the goal line against the Rams resulted in a season-ending left-knee injury.
It's unclear if he had torn his anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments when he got sandwiched in between two defenders or when he planted before takeoff. But Wentz's aggressiveness surely increased the odds for injury, and it's not just his scrambles downfield that have placed the quarterback at greater risk.
His refusal to give up on any play has given the Eagles many first downs and several touchdowns, and his toughness has galvanized teammates. But Wentz's derring-do potentially threatens his and his team's future _ despite last season's improbable, Super Bowl-winning run directed by his replacement, Nick Foles _ and further emphasizes the importance of quarterbacking out of harm's way.
"I'm going to sit down and talk to him," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said last week at the NFL owners meetings. "Longevity's everything in this business. Learn from the best. Learn from Tom Brady, who got hurt early in his career. And learn from guys that have done that and yet still went on to have great careers and long careers."
Brady is a pocket quarterback, though. Wentz has mostly drawn comparisons to strong, athletic quarterbacks like Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck and Cam Newton, who have played the position as if they were fullbacks, but have also been prone to injury because of that hardiness.
Roethlisberger became less assertive, to some extent, the more he missed games and the more he matured. The jury is still out on whether Luck, who missed the 2017 season after shoulder surgery, will dial back on his natural impulses. But like Wentz, he may have no other choice _ at least initially.
Wentz is unlikely to be as mobile when he returns. The Eagles haven't publicly set a timetable for his return but he has said that his "goal is to be ready for Week 1." Whether he is forced to play more conservatively or not, the 25-year-old said in January that he will not alter his approach considering the injury.
"I am who I am," Wentz said, channeling a certain resolute sailor man. "Injuries happen. Injuries aren't going to change me. ... Obviously, guys want to talk about, 'Are you learning to protect yourself?' And we debated and talked about that all season long. That will continue to grow and develop.
"But as far as playing aggressive and being the player that I am, I won't change."
