January 21, 2019
On Monday morning, PhillyVoice released a report citing several sources within the Eagles locker room painting quarterback Carson Wentz as "selfish," "egotistical" and "uncompromising." You can read that full story here.
In the hours following our publication, several Eagles players took to Twitter to defend the 26-year-old quarterback by refuting our story. Because we were only able to tell one side of the story in our original report, we decided it only fair to give the players defending Wentz the same platform as those who spoke to PhillyVoice under the condition of anonymity.
First up was defensive tackle Fletcher Cox:
Reading through this Carson Wentz thing and as a leader on this team none of that is true Carson is a great teammate and great player we are all behind him 100% he’s our guy and will come back and prove the world wrong. If you got a problem feel free to @ me I’ll respond
— fletcher cox (@fcoxx_91) January 21, 2019
Offensive lineman Brandon Brooks responded to Cox's tweet with a resounding endorsement:
What my guy @fcoxx_91 said!!! pic.twitter.com/DpRr39ZcEI
— Brandon Brooks (@bbrooks_79) January 21, 2019
Next up was tight end Zach Ertz, who had the following to say about his quarterback:
Don’t believe everything you read!!! Carson has been nothing but a GREAT person, GREAT teammate and GREAT leader since Day 1. Our locker room stands behind him all the way. We can’t wait to get back to work and be the best team we can be in 2019! #FlyEaglesFly
— Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) January 21, 2019
Lane Johnson also defended Wentz by attacking the writer.
Whoever wrote that article needs to check their "sources". #fakenews
— Lane Johnson (@LaneJohnson65) January 21, 2019
Carson has been and is our leader and our QB. Y'all know where to find me if you have any issues.#flyeaglesfly
We stand by our sources.
Third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld offered the following defense of Wentz:
#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/nbnI0eNeEo
— Nate Sudfeld (@NateSudfeld) January 21, 2019
Eagles center Jason Kelce didn't use social media to voice his support, instead going to another reporter to refute our sources' assertions about Wentz. Here's what he told Nick Fierro of the Allentown Morning Call:
“Carson arrived here three seasons ago and has been nothing but an incredible teammate,” Kelce told The Morning Call via text message. “From the moment he started taking reps as a rookie, you knew there was something different about him, and our entire offense got better largely because of the competitor and player he is. His work ethic and attention to detail every day made an impact on others, and he’s without a doubt a tremendous leader through his words and actions.
“I have not read Joe’s article and don’t want to get into a habit of addressing unnamed opinions, but I know this: Carson through the first three years has been nothing but a great teammate trying to get better each and every day, trying to make others better each and every day, trying to make this team better each and every day. And when the dust has settled, his legacy will be one of an incredible competitor and teammate who laid it on the line each and every day for the guy next to him, and a man who did everything he could to help this team succeed.
“I’ll go to war any day of the week and twice on Sunday with guys like Carson Wentz.” [mcall.com]
Obviously, not everyone in the locker room feels the same way as those who spoke to us for this story, at least not publicly. Even former teammates came out in defense of Wentz, like Torrey Smith, who was with the Eagles for their 2017-18 Super Bowl season.
Don’t even have to read this article and I bet my new born child 99% of this is 💩 https://t.co/UZgc133gkp
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) January 21, 2019
And later Monday afternoon an Eagles linebacker got his two cents in as well:
People are ridiculous... 🤦🏽♂️ nothing better to do with their lives than to try bring other people down...
— Kamu Grugier-Hill (@k_grugierhill) January 21, 2019
We'll keep this post updated if/when other players chime in on Wentz's behalf...
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