Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz said yesterday his knee was healing well.
Now he just has to work on the bruised ego and the hurt feelings that come from watching his team win the Super Bowl without him.
Wentz did something yesterday that few athletes will, in that he admitted vulnerability by saying it hurt to watch someone other than himself lead the Eagles to a long-awaited title. At the same time, the respect he has for backup Nick Foles makes it easier to deal with, but still something he has to deal with.
“You’ve got to fight that,” Wentz said of feelings of jealousy, via Tim McManus of ESPN.com. “It’s human nature to want to be on that podium and be that guy. You grow up wanting to do that as a kid, but to not be able to be up there, I would not rather have anyone else be up there than Nick.”
Foles has made the situation easier for everyone to deal with by being a pro, though he too admitted that he thinks about being a starter again. But the two have a strong relationship, and have an organization which sets expectations by making the pecking order clear, so things have gone as smoothly as an awkward situation can.
Wentz said the conversations about the dynamics with Foles this year “will come and take care of themselves.”
“Just last year and how it all unfolded — obviously it was pretty different but pretty special,” Wentz said. “He and I — we’ve been so close ever since he first got here and just developed a real friendship, a real relationship, more than just a working relationship, a true friendship between me and him and really Nate [Sudfeld] as well. A really special room. So to go through that experience last year was pretty cool.”
Even if he wasn’t the guy lifting the trophy.
