Was he jealous? Was he envious of Nick Foles? Carson Wentz doesn't exactly say yes. But he doesn't say no, either.
"You've got to fight that, you've got to fight that," Wentz said Tuesday.
"It's human nature to want to be on that podium and be the guy. You grow up wanting to be there, but not being able to be up there, there's nobody I'd rather have up there than Nick."
Wentz may have been the most valuable player in the NFL, but Foles, his close friend and teammate, is the one with a Super Bowl MVP trophy.
Wentz did everything he could to support Foles once he suffered a season-ending knee injury in early December. And Foles has spoken several times about what a good teammate Wentz was.
But after leading the Eagles to a 10-2 record with 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, it wasn't the easiest thing to watch his backup achieve football immortality with a record-setting run through the postseason.
"It was pretty different but pretty special," Wentz said. "We've become so close ever since he first got here. Developed a real friendship, a real relationship, more than just a working relationship, a true friendship between me and him - and Nate (Sudfeld) as well. So to go through that experience last year was pretty cool."
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For now, Foles is back with the Eagles, and depending on how fast Wentz recovers from his injury (see story), he will either begin the season backing up Wentz or starting until Wentz is ready.
This is unprecedented stuff. No quarterback has ever been a Super Bowl MVP and then been a backup on the same team the next year.
Without the right two guys, it wouldn't work. It couldn't work.
But Zach Ertz, who is close to both Foles and Wentz, said their unique relationship makes it possible.
"First and foremost, they have an amazing relationship with one another, and I think their faith is part of their relationship," he said.
"They're able to step back and just focus on the team. Both guys have no egos, especially Nick. That guy is as cool as they come. He's a phenomenal teammate, I think everyone saw that come out last year, his ability even at the beginning of the year, what he was able to do with Carson, kind of helping him out.
"When Carson was playing, Nick would be a sounding board. So the dynamic really hasn't changed in that regard. Even when Nick was playing, Carson did the same thing for him. So that relationship started to grow last year, and I'm assuming it's going to be the same."
Foles has made it clear he wants to be a starter (see story), so this could be a difficult situation. But it won't be, Ertz promises.
"Nick is not a guy that's going to demand anything," he said. "Obviously, he could do some things in the best interests of his career down the road, but right now I mean the guy loves being in Philadelphia and I think he's really having fun in playing football with this team."
