Eagles' Carson Wentz shows he'll be ready for Week 1

Martin Frank | The News Journal

PHILADELPHIA — Sure, we will have to wait out the entirety of training camp and the preseason for the Eagles to officially announce that Carson Wentz will be ready to start the opener on Sept. 6.

But that pretty much became a done deal on Day 3 of training camp Saturday.

That was when Wentz, rehabbing from two torn knee ligaments suffered last December, looked every bit like the MVP-type quarterback he was last season.

There is little doubt anymore. Not after Wentz participated in team 11-on-11 drills. It was a huge step because this was the first day the players wore pads and were able to hit each other (not the quarterback, of course).

Wentz also took many of those 11-on-11 snaps with the first team, another big step. He and Nick Foles, the MVP of the Super Bowl, pretty much split the first-team reps.

Wentz showed he hasn't lost a step. He sprinted out twice to his right to avoid pressure as the offensive and defensive linemen were going at full speed trying to make a play. It was legitimate, unlike on Thursday in a short, scripted practice with no pads and no hitting.

And, if you were living in a bubble and didn't know that Wentz had the torn ACL and LCL, you couldn't tell from the way he moved around.

Wentz wasn't made available to the media on Saturday, but his teammates were certainly impressed with what they saw.

"I love it," wide receiver Mike Wallace said. "You get a little nervous, though, because he’s the quarterback, so you know you need him (healthy) first and foremost. So when a guy gets close to him, you’re like, ‘Whoa!’ But then you see him move around and get out of it, you’re like, 'That’s encouraging to see.'

"For him to be out there just coming off that knee injury and getting back and playing the way he is, I think he's thinking free and not worrying about his knee. It's just great to see."

Sure, there will be some days when Wentz will need to take a step back. It's possible that Wentz will be held out of 11-on-11 drills Sunday with a day off Monday. That's fine. And he might not play in any of the preseason games. That's fine, too.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson has already said that Wentz doesn't have to play in the preseason games in order to be ready for the regular season.

But they all have seen the progress Wentz has made. In fact, it was sort of a running joke after practice, during offensive coordinator Mike Groh's press conference, when Pederson sidled up to the interview tent and asked Groh about a timetable for Wentz's return.

Pederson was not available to the media on Saturday. Groh, of course, had already been asked often about Wentz's progress.

"I thought he did a nice job operating in there," Groh said. "He looks really comfortable and just settled right back into the saddle. I'm really pleased with where he is right now."

Groh was then asked what it means for Wentz to be able to do so much on Day 3 of training camp.

"Well, obviously we want everyone practicing together, and getting the continuity that we need to be as consistent and as efficient as we want to be on offense," Groh said. "To have everybody out there, to have Carson there — in some people's minds ahead of schedule, but I know that was his target date. We're excited to have him out there and working."