Jacksonville Jaguars unlikely to pursue Carson Wentz despite Doug Pederson connection

Carson Wentz was released after his one and only season with the Washington Commanders. He’s free to join any club he wants but the Jacksonville Jaguars should refrain from signing him even though he played for head coach Doug Pederson as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported Wentz was on his way out and Washington later made his release official. Wentz was the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and was a league MVP candidate at one point in his career. However, injuries have taken a toll on him and his play has declined considerably. He’s now set to suit up for his fourth team in as many years.

Even though quarterback wins aren’t a reliable indicator of how successful a quarterback is, Wentz has gone 11-13 as a starter in his last two stops. In his first four NFL seasons, the former North Dakota State Bison completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 14,191 yards with 97 touchdowns and 35 interceptions.

Over the last three seasons, Wentz’s completion rate dropped to 60.6 percent and tallied 7,938 yards with 54 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. While those aren’t horrible numbers, they aren’t the ones on par with the kind of salary he was making, which is why the Commanders decided to move on from him.

The Jacksonville Jaguars should stay away from Carson Wentz

Despite the fact that Wentz hasn’t discussed whether he would accept a backup role, his best days are behind him and the chances of him getting a starting job right now are slim to none. While there are a handful of teams that could use his services, the Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t among them.

On paper, it would make sense for the Jags to perform due diligence on Wentz. After all, Doug Pederson was his head coach with the Eagles from 2016 to 2020. On the other hand, Jacksonville is set at quarterback.

Trevor Lawrence has proven to be as good as advertised and is firmly entrenched as the starter in Jacksonville. Moreover, the Jaguars have a competent backup in C.J. Beathard, who just signed a two-year contract extension and has been an invaluable presence in the Jags’ locker room.

Meanwhile, Wentz showed in Philly that he isn’t the kind of player that will embrace competition, which wouldn’t likely sit well with Jaguars players. Just before Super Bowl 57, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said, “If you’re worried we’re bringing in depth and talent, you’re probably not the right guy at the position”, in reference to the decision to draft Jalen Hurts in 2020 even though they had made the playoffs the season before with Wentz at the helm.

Things turned out pretty well for the Eagles but not so much for Wentz, who finds himself without a team while Hurts is poised to get paid.

However you look at it, there’s no place in Jacksonville for Carson Wentz. While there’s a chance he could enjoy a career revival, don’t expect many teams to grant him a chance. The Colts and the Commanders did and he couldn’t seize the opportunity with either club. What makes you and any team potentially interested in signing him think that things will be better this time around?