Time will tell whether Carson Wentz or the Eagles deserve the majority of the blame for the young quarterback's regression and eventual departure from Philadelphia.
However, what is clear is that Wentz has things to work on if he wants to live up to his still-great potential.
The 28-year-old, taken with the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, was traded last week to the Indianapolis Colts for draft picks. Shortly after news of the deal broke, Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard published a story containing insight from one of Wentz's former Eagles teammates
Take a look:
Wentz does want to win. He is tireless. He is dedicated. No one publicly has ever suggested otherwise, and the same seemingly holds privately. But his resistance to hard instruction made him lose faith from coaches and an unwillingness to accept blame for his mistakes hurt him in the locker room.
“He doesn’t understand that he lost games for us,” a veteran player said. “He will never admit that and that’s a problem because he can’t get it corrected.”
In the quarterback room, when his errors were pointed out, Wentz would sometimes make irrelevant excuses and (sic) wouldn’t correct him.
If "availability" is the best ability, then "accountability" isn't far behind it. At this point, there's enough evidence to warrant believing that Wentz needs help in both areas.
Perhaps that's why Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots reportedly never had strong interest in a trade for Wentz. Excuse-making and consistent injuries are two non-starters for the notoriously strict Patriots head coach.
