What will Carson Wentz show LA Rams fans in Week 18?

V: Wentz can still play quarterback at the NFL level

There are many who harbor reservations about quarterback Carson Wentz, and do so more from a practical standpoint than from an investigative NFL analyst perspective. What does that mean? Well, many of the comments of fans who are uneasy with Wentz running the LA Rams offense in Week 18 fall to the default objection: "If he is so good, why was he still available?"

Of course, the question is an attempt to cite bad NFL play, but the actual answer likely comes from the fact that he was a highly compensated starting NFL quarterback, and held out for a similar opportunity and compensation. By the first month of the 2023 NFL season, those opportunities had all but vanished, and the NFL game of musical chairs had simply played out to a point where he was seeking a starting quarterback role that was no longer available.

But do not think that he cannot play quarterback in the NFL.

Entering his eighth NFL season, QB Carson Wentz has completed 2,056 of 3,284 passes for 22,129 passing yards, 151 touchdowns, and 66 interceptions. His worst season occurred in 2020 with the Philadelphia Eagles, when he only completed 57.4 percent of his passes for 2,620 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. In 2021, he threw for the Indianapolis Colts, and completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 3,563 yards, 27 TDs and 7 INTs. In 2022, he threw for the Washington Commanders, completing 62.3 percent of his passes for 1,755 yards, 11 TD,s and 9 INTs

In the past three seasons, Wentz has had some games when he was red hot. But he also had games when he was not. While that is not a problem for a quarterback earning $770K/year, it is problematic when the guy is earning $20-30 million per season.

Can Wentz still sling the football? You bet. In seven starts for the Washington Commanders in 2022, he had three games in which he threw for over 300 passing yards, and threw for multiple passing touchdowns in those games. That level of performance is something that the LA Rams, and Rams fans, are simply not used to seeing from a backup quarterback.