“From everybody hopping on the Wentz wagon not too long ago, to his third team now, in three years.”
That was how ESPN’s Hannah Storm introduced a feature on Carson Wentz Friday with Sal Paolantonio. Storm concluded her introduction by referring to Wentz’s career as “peripatetic.”
Paolantonio: What happened in Jacksonville? Is that something where you just discard it, bury it, make it go away?
Wentz: We just didn’t get it done. I feel like personally, I put it all out there. As a team, we put it all out there last year, but timing wasn’t ideal for that loss, that performance. But you learn from it and say, ‘I’m still confident in who I am. That’s not going to define me. That’s not going to define the season, define anything.’ We had a good season, a good team, had a lot of fun. Just didn’t get it done when it mattered.”
Paolantonio reminded viewers that Colts owner Jim Irsay called the trade for Wentz “a mistake,” saying of Wentz, “Your guy’s gotta pick you up and carry you through Jacksonville. He has to do it; not an option. Has to, no excuses, no explanations.”
Wentz: I’m not going to get into a word battle. I’m not going to let any of that stress me out. Turn the page. I felt like I gave everything I had to be the best I could be in Indy. For me, it’s ‘try not to dwell on it. How can I get better tomorrow?’ How can I be better as a person, as a teammate, as a friend, as a husband, a father? Learn from things that happened, good and bad in my past.”
Wentz expressed that when he first walked into the Ashburn building, head coach Ron Rivera said, “Just know you are wanted here.” Wentz conveyed, “In this business, we all have to have our own sense of self-confidence and self-esteem. But it is nice to hear.”
The new Washington quarterback spoke of having respected Rivera from afar and now sees his Commanders teammates respect who Rivera is and how he carries himself.
The former Eagle and Colt said when he first was with the team in the locker room it struck him that he is now one of the old guys on the team. He also admitted, “it’s been a whirlwind the last couple of years. There’s no lying about that.”
No. 11 however then added but in the last 2 1/2 years, their two daughters have been born, providing him perspective. “I am husband and dad, and THEN I play football. When I come home my (oldest) daughter runs to give me a hug; whether I threw five touchdowns or five picks, it doesn’t matter.”
Be careful Commanders fans; Carson was not saying it doesn’t matter if the throws five touchdowns or five interceptions. He was saying he sees it doesn’t matter to his daughter(s) and wife. And that gives him a better perspective on who he first is in this life.
