Carson Wentz gives update on his recovery status as Eagles begin offseason workout program

Carson Wentz spoke with reporters today for the first time since February.

Naturally, the third-year quarterback was asked a lot of questions about his recovery from the ACL/LCL injuries he suffered in December. This post will likely be just one of many status updates on the franchise’s most important player.

For now, here’s what Wentz had to say about his rehab.

Q: Where are you in your recovery?

WENTZ: “So we’ve started — and I’m not going to get into any real specifics with rehab and everything — but we’ve started the running progression and all of those things. So I’m feeling good. I’m feeling good with where I’m at. Just trying to stay the course. But like I said late last season, it’s such a fluid process. It’s so hard to put a time frame and a time table on these things. I wish I knew as well. Things are going well. I’m happy with where I’m at.”

Q: Doug Pederson told us he’s encouraged by your progress. Do you feel the same way? Do you feel you’re on track?

WENTZ: Yeah, for sure. I feel very good. Like I said, started the running progress. You guys saw me [on social media] a couple weeks ago, I was throwing and everything. So just to start being able to do a lot of those things again, [it’s] a good sign.

Q: How hard is it to not do too much and not rush back?

WENTZ: It’s part of it. It’s part of the process. If something feels really good, I’m like, ‘Alright, let’s do it,’ but you’ve just got to stay the course. You’ve seen the horror stories of people coming back too soon and those things so I can assure you I’ll be smart about it.

Q: The last time we spoke, you said Week 1 was your goal for returning. Is that still your goal?

WENTZ: Yeah, that’s still the goal.

Q: Do you need to play in the preseason to be ready for the regular season?

WENTZ: I don’t think so.

Q: There’s been speculation you need to change the way you play. What’s your take on that?

WENTZ: First of all, there will always be speculation. That’s just part of the business. But I’m not going to change. I think I’m always going to learn. Even from my first year to second year, I thought I learned quite a bit. I protect myself. Going back and watching again, there’s things to just keep learning from. As far as overall changing my style, that’s not going to happen.

Q: Are you preparing to be more of a pocket passer due to the possibility of your mobility being limited?

WENTZ: I guess we’ll see when the time comes. I believe I’ll be fine.

Q: How’ve you used the rehab time to change your body?

WENTZ: Yeah, obviously, with all the extra rehab, not being able to run and do a lot of things early on, you’ve really just got to focus on some different things. I got to do a lot of seated throwing and try and build my arm strength and really take care of my upper body more than I have in the past. It’s been an interesting process not being able to get that true conditioning and that rehab in but it’s exciting to kind of start easing into the running and conditioning stuff.

Q: What you made noticeable gains strength wise or muscle mass wise?

WENTZ: Yeah, I feel good. I definitely feel working with the strength guys, like I mentioned, we had some friendly competition stuff in there with the other guys that are rehabbing. I definitely feel like I’ve made strides there.

As Wentz said, there’s still no formal timetable for his return to the field.

We do know that he’s expected to miss the entirety of the Eagles’ on-field spring practices (OTAs and minicamp), which wrap up in mid-June. It’s then unclear if he’ll be ready for the start of training camp practices beginning in late July. Wentz said he doesn’t feel like he needs to play in the August preseason games to be ready by the time the team begins Week 1 of the 2018 NFL regular season on Thursday, September 6.

It’s encouraging to hear Wentz acknowledge the dangers of rushing back too soon. It’s difficult to believe the Eagles would be willing to put him on the field before he’s ready, anyway, especially due to the presence of a more than capable backup in Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. It’s also nice to hear Wentz knows he can learn more about protecting himself without having to sacrifice what makes him such a dynamic talent.

We don’t know exactly when Wentz will be back, but we do know he’s working his hardest to be ready. Whether that’s Week 1 or later, he’ll eventually be under center for the Eagles once again. And that will be a glorious day.