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Eagles officially name Carson Wentz as Week 1 starting quarterback

There it is.

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

It's official: Carson Wentz will be the Eagles' starting quarterback this Sunday for Philadelphia's Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns. Head coach Doug Pederson confirmed as much during his Monday press conference.

It's safe to say the Eagles (or anyone else, really) didn't expect things to shake out this way. Philadelphia was fully prepared to enter the season with Sam Bradford as their starter. Wentz was set to be a game day inactive as the third string quarterback.

The original plan obviously changed when the Minnesota Vikings made the Eagles a trade offer they couldn't refuse. Philadelphia received a 2017 first round pick and a 2018 fourth round pick from Minnesota in exchange for Bradford. With the Eagles in need of a new starting quarterback, the logical option was to promote the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Pederson confirmed Wentz is now 100% healthy after suffering a rib injury during the Eagles' first preseason game. Wentz took all of Philadelphia's first team reps during practice.

It's not unfair to question Wentz's readiness. The former NCAA Division I FCS quarterback missed a lot of practice time and game action this summer due to injury. Despite this, Pederson said the Eagles are "very comfortable" with where the team is with Wentz as the starter. He added that he knows Wentz can handle this stage because he's a "special guy."

The Eagles play the Browns at Lincoln Financial Field this Sunday, Sept. 11. Wentz will get to face the team that had an opportunity to pick him but instead traded the No. 2 pick to Philadelphia.

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