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The Philadelphia Eagles signed quarterback Carson Wentz to a four-year, $128 million contract extension on Thursday night, keeping him in Philadelphia through 2024.
With Wentz having had just two years remaining on his deal entering 2019, this was somewhat expected, and earlier in the offseason, many speculated that the new contract could happen soon.
Now, here we are, and Wentz is locked up for the foreseeable future.
But was the Eagles' decision to extend Wentz, who has played just one full season thus far in his three-year NFL career, a mistake?
Here are three reasons why Philly made the right decision.
3. Carson Wentz Is Flat Out Good
When Wentz has been on the field, he has been a really good quarterback.
In 11 games this past season before going down with a back injury, he threw for 3,074 yards, 21 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing 69.6 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 102.2.
Also, back in 2017, Wentz appeared in 13 contests before succumbing to a torn ACL, and during that time, he was an MVP candidate, throwing for 3,296 yards, 33 touchdowns, and seven picks while completing 60.2 percent of his passes and recording a passer rating of 101.9.
So, basically, Wentz can play quarterback in the NFL, and he can do it pretty well.
The guy has a track record of being able to make big throws while also limiting his turnovers, so it's not like the Eagles are committing to an unproven commodity here.
When Wentz has been healthy, he has been good.
2. The Eagles Let Nick Foles Walk for a Reason
How would it have looked if the Eagles allowed Super Bowl hero Nick Foles to walk and then decided that they did not want to make Wentz their quarterback of the future?
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The city of Philadelphia would have been irate.
The Eagles faced a tough decision in letting Foles go this offseason, but they knew they essentially had no other choice because they wanted to roll with the younger, more talented Wentz under center for the long haul.
If Philly suddenly opted to look elsewhere for a signal-caller because it didn't trust Wentz, then you could have argued that the Eagles should have just traded Wentz and kept Foles.
The Birds knew all along that they were going to lock up Wentz, which was why they felt comfortable letting Foles go to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
1. Franchise Quarterbacks Are Hard to Find
Yes, I get that Wentz has had trouble staying healthy, but again, when he has been right, he has produced at a high level, and that is not an easy thing to find at quarterback in the NFL.
There are teams in this league that have gone well over a decade without having a franchise signal-caller on their roster, so when you discover one, you need to grab hold and not let go.
Like any other quarterback, Wentz has his drawbacks, but the fact of the matter is that this is a guy who has looked terrific the majority of the time over his first three years in the league, and if he is able to just stay on the field, there is no reason to believe he won't continue to do so.
Wentz has a great arm with improving accuracy, he reads defenses well and he is mobile enough to get out of the pocket and make plays on the run. No one will confuse him for Russell Wilson, but he is also not Drew Bledsoe back there.
All of those qualities make Wentz a gamble that the Eagles had to take, even if he is a somewhat risky one given his checkered injury history.
