There’s a precautionary tale for the Philadelphia Eagles to heed in Andrew Luck’s sudden retirement.
Protect Carson Wentz at all costs.
Luck called it quits on Saturday night, ending a once-promising career that was cut short due to a litany of injuries.
Most of the blame for that can be put squarely on the shoulders of Indianapolis’ offensive line over the years.
The unit tasked in protecting the franchise quarterback did not do its job as Luck was constantly exposed to pressure, contact, and crunching hits.
In the five seasons Luck played at least 15 games, he was sacked 27 times or more in four of them. That included two 41-sack seasons in his 2012 rookie season and 2016.
The constant abuse on his body resulted in several serious injuries that included torn cartilage, a concussion, a torn labrum, a lacerated kidney, and a torn abdomen.
If that isn’t a clear enough message to all NFL teams to invest in their offensive line, then they won’t get the message.
The Eagles allowed an alarming amount of sacks last season, which did little to keep Wentz comfortable in the pocket.
In the 11 games he played in before his season ended early because of a back injury, Wentz was sacked 31 times.
For a player that was coming back from a torn ACL the year before, that’s far too much contact.
Both Luck and Wentz are built similarly, can extend the play with their athleticism, have strong arms. But their injury history is starting to look a lot alike, too.
Wentz has been injured in every year since his senior year of college at North Dakota State when he broke his wrist.
Before his rookie year in 2016, Wentz suffered a hairline fracture in his ribs. While he missed the entire preseason, he played in all 16 regular-season games.
With Wentz looking healthy ahead of the 2019 season, Luck’s misfortunes will be fresh in the mind of Eagles fans this year as they hope to have their starting quarterback in the fold all year.
Nerves won’t be eased as the book is still out on just how good the offensive line will be, either. Which means Wentz will be put under the microscope every time he’s touched this year.
