It's fun to debate who could be the next Philadelphia Eagles to have his number retired and hanging from the rafters of Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles currently have nine players retired:
As controversial as this might be, I believe Carson Wentz should be the next Eagle to get his jersey retired. On and off the field, he constantly shows leadership qualities and stands by his team. In his three short years on the team, he has shown his many capabilities and his dedication to his team despite the obstacles he's gone through. Although he suffered from two unexpected season-ending injuries over the past two years, he got back up and worked towards getting better while still coaching and cheering on his team.
Of course we've all seen the articles and debates about Foles vs Wentz, and despite the entire thing Wentz never had one bad thing to say about Foles or any of the people who doubted him. All his teammates only had good things to say about him when the whole situation exploded back in January. I kept checking his Twitter to see if he said anything and there was nothing, a humble leader.
On the field, Wentz is already 5th in team history in completions (923), 6th in passing yards (10,152), 7th in passing touchdowns (70), 9th in 4th Quarter comebacks (4) and 9th in game-winning drives (4). Also among Eagles QBs with a minimum of 1,000 passes thrown, he is 2nd in QB Rating (92.5), T-1st in best interception percentage (1.9%) and has the highest completion percentage (63.7%). At just 26-years-old, if Wentz can stay healthy and remain an Eagle his entire career, he will only continue climbing these ranks and will end up in first or second place in every single passing category.
He deserves this not only because of his talent on the field but his kindness and charity off the field. Back in the summer of 2017, Went started the AO1 Foundation. The Foundation is a nonprofit organization thats mission is "to demonstrate the love of God by providing opportunities and support for the less fortunate and those in need." Wentz took it to Twitter on July 11th, 2017 to officially announce the organization. He also organizes annual softball games to raise money for the organization.
He always remains positive and humble despite the hardships he's been through. He trusts that God is putting him exactly where he’s supposed to be and everything is happening for a reason.I think that is truly inspiring and I wouldn’t want anyone else being the face of our team.
It's unfair that when Wentz is doing good and carried the team to the playoffs, everyone loved him but as soon as he hits some bumps in the road people want to turn against him and put their hope in someone else. Wentz will be back and better than before as soon as we know it. And he will prove that he is the next Eagle who deserves to have his jersey retired.
