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Carson Wentz’s career-worst performance against the Saints last week was a far cry from his 2017 MVP worthy campaign. Heading into this week’s game against the Giants, one New York player said Wentz “doesn’t look the same” in terms of mobility.
It’s only fair to wonder if Wentz is still impacted by the ACL and LCL injuries he suffered less than a year ago on December 10, 2017. According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, that is the case.
What Wentz has done coming back from a torn ACL, a torn LCL, has been impressive. But it does take a full year at the least to come fully back.
And I actually talked to a source with direct knowledge of [Wentz’s] rehab, and he explained to me why Wentz is not fully the quarterback we will see going forward. The main reason is he’s not planting hard on his left foot. He’s taking what this person described as “baby steps.” He appears tentative with this left foot as he either steps into his throws and as he scrambles. That’s something that as he gets stronger [neurovasculary] that is going to improve but is not there yet. It also has to do with confidence. That is why maybe we haven’t quite seen the Carson Wentz that we did last year.
By the way, it’s going to be another year — probably the beginning of next season — before Wentz can shed the [knee] brace.
This report makes sense. Dr. David Chao, a former NFL team doctor, has long been saying Wentz would need at least a full year to look like the same player.
Truth.
— David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) November 25, 2018
No matter how great #CarsonWentz is and no matter how hard he works, can't speed up biology of healing. Multi-ligament knee injuries take longer than isolated ACL. https://t.co/nR17lA1CAY
BGN’s own Benjamin Solak first noticed this “false step” issue with Wentz all the way back in training camp.
Please take this with a grain of salt. I have 0 access to Carson except for 5-10 minutes of practice.
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) August 27, 2018
Today, there was a false step on his left foot when he transferred his weight to throw. It definitely was not on his 2017 tape. Didn't notice it during camp, either.
All things considered, Wentz isn’t having a terrible year. He ranks fifth in completion percentage, 14th in yards per attempt, and 11th in passer rating. Football Outsiders’ advanced metrics peg him at 20th in DYAR and 19th in DVOA.
But there’s clearly room for improvement. Hopefully Wentz will be back to being great in 2019 after he has a full offseason to work on his game again instead of just rehabbing.