Carson Wentz will NOT start Eagles training camp on the PUP list, report says

So it turns out that Carson Wentz is NOT likely to begin Philadelphia Eagles training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list after all. NFL insider Ian Rapoport is reversing course from his earlier report. Here’s the latest on the Birds’ franchise quarterback:

Great news for Eagles QB Carson Wentz, who won’t go on PUP. He’ll be limited but at least practicing. [...] When the Eagles met prior to QB Carson Wentz’s physical, they mulled a PUP designation considering he won’t be full speed and won’t do team drills. In the end, they chose option B, which is to keep him on the field. This means he’ll be on the 53-man roster when the season begins

NFL insider Chris Mortensen basically threw shade on RapSheet’s reporting and said the plan all along was for Wentz to participate in training camp.

The Eagles plan for Carson Wentz from day 1 of camp is for him to do individual and 7 on 7 drills, monitor progress and determine later with medical staff when it’s appropriate to do full team work. You can’t do any of that on PUP. Eagles have other PUP candidates but not Wentz. That’s been the case for awhile and nothing has changed.

Mort’s report makes sense since Wentz was already taking part during individuals and 7-on-7 during OTAs and minicamp. Putting him on active/PUP would’ve been a step backwards. Now we know he’ll be active when Eagles training camp starts tomorrow, July 26.

With Wentz set to practice, this means he can’t be stashed away on reserve/PUP to start the regular season. Participating in just one camp practice automatically disqualifies eligiblity for that list. Wentz being on reserve/PUP would have required him to miss the first six games, which never seemed realistic anyway.

Wentz is now guaranteed to be on the 53-man roster to start the season. Now, will he actually start under center against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1? That much still remains to be seen, but he’s made very encouraging progress during the offseason towards that goal. The feeling here is that he’ll be playing on September 6.