Eagles reportedly plan to start rookie Carson Wentz Week 1 if he's healthy

It’s all happening with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the span of a few hours, the team made a stunner of a trade in sending Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings, earned back the 2017 first-round pick (and more) it lost to help land Carson Wentz and then it reportedly plans to elevate Wentz to start Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. That would make veteran Chase Daniel the backup.

 

Yahoo’s Charles Robinson reported that the trade of Bradford was motivated in part by moving Wentz into the starter’s role. That’s assuming Wentz has recovered enough from the rib injury he suffered in the first preseason game. The sit-and-learn timetable for Wentz, who turns 24 in December, apparently has been scrapped.

Health is the biggest immediate concern. Wentz suffered a hairline rib fracture on Aug. 11, and Eagles head coach Doug Pederson estimated last week that one of Wentz’s ribs was 60 percent healed. Has it healed that much in the past few days?

In that one preseason game, Wentz completed 12 of 24 passes for 89 yards and a bad interception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That’s not much work for a quarterback coming from FCS-level college football at North Dakota State, but the Eagles believe he has high-level skills and rare maturity.

Wentz appears mature enough to handle some early bumps in the road. That’s not the biggest concern, really. But another issue that is he hasn’t had much time to mesh with the rest of the offense. Wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham has just gotten his feet wet, too, and the offensive line is still coming together as well. That’s a lot of training on the job.

Fortunately, the Eagles’ early-season schedule is not brutal. After the Browns in Week 1, the Eagles travel to Chicago for a Monday nighter, followed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3 at home and a Week 4 bye. There’s time for Wentz to develop without facing a menacing defense in the first month of the season.

Still, this is a lot to digest. The Eagles have made wholesale changes and dramatic moves throughout 2016. But even these are surprising developments to be sure.