Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is back taking reps for 11-on-11 drills in practice, which is good. However, he remains on the physically unable to perform list and still hasn’t reached a crucial step in his recovery from his torn ACL, which is being cleared for contact.
An exasperated-sounding Eagles head coach Doug Pederson confirmed that Wentz still hasn’t been given the green light to get hit when he was once again asked about the young QB.
“I don't know how many times I can answer this question,” Pederson said per Nick Shook of NFL.com. “When they clear him, he'll be cleared.”
“I'm not going to put myself in a box. I'm not going to put my quarterback in a box,” Pederson said when asked when Wentz's clearing might be expected. “I'm not going to do that. And I'm not going to go on a limb and not going to say that. Either ask it a different way or otherwise you're going to get the same answer.”
While it seems highly unlikely that the Eagles will opt to keep Wentz on the PUP and lose him for the first six weeks of the season, his chances of being ready for Week 1 are becoming bleaker. Since he still can’t get hit, there just doesn’t seem to be much time left for him to progress and play any part in the opener against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 6.
The Eagles’ need for Wentz to return has been made more pressing by Nick Foles’ struggles in preseason. But it wouldn’t be wise for the Eagles to rush Wentz’s progress and risk more long-term issues just to get him back more quickly.