Carson Wentz knew he was ‘meant to play for the Eagles’ from the jump

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It’s been a big few days for Carson Wentz. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback signed a four-year contract extension worth $128M, which will add on to his existing contract that has two-years remaining. Wentz met with the media on Monday evening to discuss the new deal, suited, booted, and ready to challenge for a Super Bowl.

As expected, his responses to the questions asked were humble, warm, and grateful. There was no sense of greed in his voice, or selfishness. The North Dakota State product just kept making the same points abundantly clear, he wants to call the city of Philadelphia home for a very long time.

“Ever since being drafted it’s felt like home.” Wentz explained. “So as soon as we found something that was a win-win and really a fair opportunity, I jumped at it just because, like I said, I want to – I love this place. I love this place and I want to be here for a while. Felt like it was a good time.”

Wentz has come along way since being drafted with the second overall pick in 2016. One year removed from what would’ve been an almost certain MVP award had it not been for a torn ACL in week 14 in 2017, Wentz re-joined the offense in week 3 and went on to pass for over 3,000 yards, 21 touchdowns and a completion percentage of 69%. In just 11 games, he finished in the top 10 for QB rating, ahead of Jared Goff, Andrew Luck, Dak Prescott, and Ben Roethlisberger. But every story has a beginning, and Wentz knew very early on during the pre-draft process where he was meant to be.

“I just felt such a great connection with everybody that was there. I thought the workout and all the meetings went great. It was cool to see them come to Fargo and get them out of their comfort zone maybe a little bit.

Mr. Lurie is up here laughing. He remembers. A little different, but, yeah, I remember meeting them for the first time. I felt a connection from the jump. Obviously, a couple months later we realized it was meant to be.”

A lot of the instant reaction to this extension hasn’t even concerned Wentz. It’s been about the now pending contract extensions of Dak Prescott and Jared Goff etc. But that’s not something Wentz is concerning himself with at all, yet another quality that helps him stand out from the pack.

I’m happy to be here, happy to be in this city long-term. You can play the ‘what if’ game a million different ways, and I don’t get too caught up in that. We talked through it, we thought through it. Wanted to reach something that was fair both for me and my family, but also for this team and the organization for the future. I don’t think I’ll have any regrets. I’m really excited to be here and hopefully do something special for a while.


Carson Wentz may be one of the biggest stars in the NFL, but he’s still the same young man drafted from humble beginnings, and you can see it in his responses to signing a contract that will change the lives of himself and his entire family. It was never about how many zeroes are on the end of it, it was just about playing in a City he loves, a city where he belongs.

Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports