Sometimes Football Players Get Hurt
By Kyle Koster
Carson Wentz, one of the most talented young quarterbacks in the NFL, finally got his chance to participate in the playoffs. It didn't last long. A nasty helmet-to-helmet hit from behind by Jadeveon Clowney knocked him out on the second drive this past Sunday. It was the latest bad break for Wentz and the MASH unit Philadelphia Eagles, who were eventually put out of their misery by the Seattle Seahawks.
Because it's 2020, Twitter fingers must search for a greater meaning. Thus we got a number of takes on Wentz and what his injuries mean for his legacy and if you can trust him or not. It's all so predictable and, at the end of the day, essentially useless.
There's an incredible amount of victim-blaming when it comes to Wentz, like it's some how his fault he's gotten injured early and often in his career. In 2015, he broke his wrist. In 2016, he cracked his ribs. In 2017, he tore his LCL and ACL. In 2018, he endured a spinal compression fracture.
And on Sunday, his brain was jostled up against his skull.
There's something to be said about a player who is reliably healthy and durable. Wentz does not fit that description. At the end of the day, that matters. It certainly matters that the Eagles were left to battle with Josh McCown instead, and it didn't go so well.
Staying on the field is a skill because sports are unfair. Wentz doesn't seem to possess that tool. But does any reasonable person believe it's some personal failing that his bones break, tendons snap, or back goes out?
Using what happened yesterday -- which is as serious as it gets and completely unavoidable -- to advance some crusade against Wentz and his shortcomings is unfair. It's outrageous to say "it's always something with this guy" when the something is his brain getting ruined.
Injuries, including concussions, are largely driven by luck. And football players get hurt a lot. Sometimes the same player.
There is no greater meaning in a guy suffering his first concussion on a hit that was always going to produce a concussion. It's not evidence of a larger point about Wentz, no matter how much it seems to fit a pattern.