Carson Wentz feels like his time in Philly was 'multiple lifetimes ago' as he prepares to face the Eagles

Ariel Simpson, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Oct 16, 2025

Published in Football

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PHILADELPHIA — It’s been over four years since the end of the Carson Wentz era in Philadelphia, which started almost a decade ago when the Eagles paid the high price to move up and draft the North Dakota State product with the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.

Now with his fifth team in the last five seasons, the quarterback is ready to face his former team on Sunday … maybe. That depends on who the Minnesota Vikings announce as their starting quarterback: Wentz or 22-year-old J.J. McCarthy. The question remains unanswered three days ahead of kickoff as both quarterbacks have been taking reps at practice — and speaking to the media.

“I approach it the same,” Wentz told reporters on Wednesday. “I prepare, go through my routine, go through my, so to speak, program of how I watch film, how I study the plays, how I get ready, what I do later in the week, how I take care of my body. That doesn’t really change. So that’s the beauty of it. Quite frankly, having done both roles in my career so far, I have what works for me and what gets me ready to play, and that’s what I’ll be doing.”

Wentz took over for McCarthy after the first-year starter suffered an ankle injury on Sept. 14. The team is 2-1 in Wentz’s three starts, and he could start again Sunday if the Vikings don’t believe McCarthy is 100%. When asked if there’s any significance to him starting against his former team, Wentz responded, “Not really.”

“Maybe earlier in my career maybe I had a different feeling,” Wentz told reporters. “But at the same time, you look over there, and I’m not even sure there’s anyone on the defensive side that I’ve played with. It just looks different. So it’s another opponent. A lot of respect for those guys. There’s still guys in that organization, there’s a lot of good people that I still have a lot of care for and respect for. But, at the same time that feels like multiple lifetimes ago at this point.”

Wentz played five seasons with the Eagles. He found early success, and in 2017, his second season, Wentz was the MVP favorite before tearing his ACL in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams. After going down, Nick Foles stepped in and led the team to its first Super Bowl win.

Wentz struggled in his return and suffered a stress fracture of his vertebra the following season and a concussion in his postseason debut in 2020 (to date, his only appearance in a playoff game). Eventually, he was benched for Jalen Hurts during the 2020 season, which caused the quarterback to seek a trade.

“I’m thankful for it,” Wentz said of his time in Philly. “They went and got me at a high pick, all the things, it was quite the roller coaster over there. Winning the Super Bowl, even though I was hurt, right here in this stadium [Minnesota’s U.S. Bank Stadium]. I’m thankful for so many things. I grew up as a man. I got married, had a kid, while I was there. So there’s so many life changes that took place there. Grateful for my time there.

“Obviously, it came to an end rather abruptly. All the things — everybody knows all that. But I’m grateful for all the opportunities I had while I was there.”

Plenty of drama surrounded Wentz during his time in Philly and in the lead-up to his trade. The team eventually traded him to the Indianapolis Colts in 2021, and the following offseason, Wentz was traded to the Washington Commanders, where he also spent one season — and lost to the Eagles in his only previous matchup against his former team. Wentz then landed with the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs, where he spent one season each backing up Matthew Stafford and Patrick Mahomes, respectively.

Ahead of Sunday, the quarterback said he was learned and grew from his time with the Eagles.

“Life is just different,” Wentz said. “It’s one of those things. I don’t take things for granted, I have a different appreciation for things that maybe I wish I would have had a little different back then. But you live, you learn, and you grow, and that’s all you can do.”