Beyond the fact that Torrey Smith was Carson Wentz’s teammate for the 2017 season, he also had a long playing career in the NFL.
So he gets why the best thing for Wentz was to get a fresh start.
“I think sometimes it’s about the situation,” Smith said to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark on Thursday. “Relationships change as well. It happens.”
The fresh start came on Thursday when the Eagles traded Wentz to the Colts, ending a five-year run with Wentz and Philadelphia. It was a trade that Smith said was in the best interest of both parties.
While Smith is a fan of Jalen Hurts and wants him to get a chance to be the guy now, he also thinks the Eagles’ decision to draft Hurts is what led to all this.
Smith gave a player’s perspective on the matter:
“You can’t tell me there’s a franchise quarterback in this league that’s getting paid top-5, top-10 salary that is being told that they have to compete for their job,” Smith said. “And that’s what was built simply by the way things were handled at the end of the year. There was some frustration there. I haven’t heard that directly from Carson, but I’m just speaking from a player’s perspective. I know it’s a tough situation to deal with.
“Anyone could come back and compete but why? You can pull me again if I struggle. If I have a bad game, I’m looking over my shoulder. You want to go somewhere where you can have a fresh start and honestly, it’s the best move for this organization right now because if there is tension, that’s not what’s best for the Eagles going forward.”
In recent weeks, Smith said he has seen people attack Wentz’s character and he feels that’s unwarranted. There has been the thought that Wentz didn’t react well to the Hurts pick and he could’ve done more to fight but Smith pointed out that security for a franchise quarterback is important.
While many have pointed at Wentz’s contract as a reason that he should have been willing to stick around and fight for his job, Smith brought up a different perspective. He basically pointed out that the money obviously didn’t equate to security because we all saw Wentz get benched last year. Smith said he disagreed with the decision to play Hurts over Wentz late in the 2020 campaign.
“When you’re the franchise quarterback and you get $100+ million, you want security,” Hurts said. “Like it or not, we like to act like quarterbacks are the big guys, but they are the ultimate softies. They are sensitive people and they have to be. Every quarterback in this league wants to feel like it’s their team and they want to know. And oftentimes it’s clear but when you draft a quarterback in the second round, it [muddies] that water a little bit.
“And you combine that with the play of Carson and the offensive line being hurt and the weapons being hurt, it’s going to lead to a disaster. And unfortunately, the team struggled this year and Carson’s play and then they decided to move to Jalen and that changed that entire dynamic. Speaking from a player’s perspective, if I were to be benched by my team, my organization after they already paid me and I have to feel like I have to compete for my job, I’m not sure if that’s the place where I want to be.”
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The Link LonkFebruary 20, 2021 at 01:10AM
https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/torrey-smith-explains-why-carson-wentz-needed-fresh-start
Torrey Smith explains why Carson Wentz needed a 'fresh start' - NBC Sports
https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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