NEW ORLEANS — Carson Wentz’s past and present are about to collide, but it’s the predictions for his future that might be most tantalizing.
Wentz — the former Eagles franchise quarterback who was upstaged by the 2018 Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles while recovering from a torn ACL — will be on the opposite sideline Sunday as Chiefs backup quarterback in Super Bowl 2025. It’s his last game before returning to free agency.
“The journey is not how I envisioned it, how I wanted it, all those things,” Wentz said, “but I’m still playing the game I love in a different role right now.”
Asked recently by The Post who could be the next Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold — a former franchise quarterback who became a journeyman backup, then found a successful Act II as a starter — if there is one, two league sources suggested Wentz.
You won’t hear an argument from Patrick Mahomes, who described Wentz as a film junkie who beats him into the team facility early in the morning.
“He should definitely be a starter in this league,” Mahomes said. “I saw that through OTAs. I watched him throw the football. I watched him move around, how athletic he is. I’m hoping he gets his opportunity to have a chance like some of the other guys around the league. I think he will go out there and maximize it.”
Wentz was 11-2 and an MVP candidate before he tore his ACL in December 2017, opening the door for Foles to become a legend. The former No. 2 pick in the 2016 draft spent three more turbulent seasons in Philadelphia before a tense divorce at the start of the Jalen Hurts Era.
Since then, Wentz has been on four teams in four seasons — last serving as a full-time starter for the 2021 Colts, when he put up big numbers but was blamed for the team’s late-season collapse.
“I’ve grown up as a man,” Wentz said of his journey since Philadelphia. “I’ve learned my wife and family are resilient. We’ve embraced the adventure. I’ve learned where to place my value. More confident in who I am and in my ability to play.”
In accordance with the Darnold and Mayfield formula, Wentz, 32, is coming off time spent around quarterback gurus. He was under the Rams’ Sean McVay in 2023 before the Chiefs’ Andy Reid — joining both teams as the clear-cut backup quarterback.
Would he be interested in serving as an early-season caretaker starter and mentor for a rookie, as Andy Dalton, Jameis Winston and Jacoby Brissett seem to do every year?
“I’m open to whatever … but I want to enjoy this week as best I can,” Wentz said. “I’ve seen a lot. I’ve experienced a lot. I think I can help in a lot of different ways for a lot of different teams.”
Sounds like a match for the Giants before targeting Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward in the draft.
win over the Texans. David Smith/CSM/Shutterstock
“I’ve always been confident in my abilities,” Wentz said. “I see what’s going on around the league. I see guys like Sam and Baker doing these things. Hats off to them. It doesn’t surprise me. Those guys came into the league super talented. In the right fit, they take off.”
Did his Eagles experience make him able to handle the pressure of New York?
“It’s as big a market as there is,” Wentz said. “Coming from North Dakota, [Philadelphia] was a big culture shock, but I embraced the blue-collar work ethic of the city. I am who I am. I’m going to compete my tail off.”
Wentz has appeared in just five games over the past two seasons. He started Week 18 without most of the Chiefs offensive starters in a shutout loss.
“For two years, I’ve hardly been hit, so I feel healthy,” Wentz said. “I am in my 30s now, but I feel fresh. A nice little bonus.”
Wentz claims he gave only a brief thought after the AFC Championship game to the surreal nature of being one bad break for Mahomes away from playing against the Eagles with a Super Bowl on the line.
“It might be weird for about a half-second,” Wentz said. “My mind can wander just as much as yours, but I try to stay ready and not play scenarios. It’s hard to get here. Last time I was here, I had a pain in my knee.”
