Carson Wentz won't play Sunday against the Rams and according to a recent report, may not play the rest of the year.
After head coach Doug Pederson said earlier Wednesday that Wentz was experiencing back soreness and tightness, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that the injury is much more serious than Pederson let on.
#Eagles QB Carson Wentz, dealing with a back issue, is not expected to play this week, sources say. Depending on the result, given the time of year, Wentz may not play again in 2018. The team is still gathering info on his health. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 12, 2018
A team spokesman said the Eagles would have no comment on the NFL Network report:
"Doug just did a press conference in which he proactively said what he's comfortable saying at this point."
Pederson said only that Wentz would miss practice Wednesday. He said he didn't know whether he'd be available for the Eagles' game against the Rams in Los Angeles on Sunday.
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Carson has a little bit of back soreness, a little tightness. So we're going to rest him today and continue to evaluate him and make sure he's good, but we'll have more information … later in the week. Sometimes he just gets a little sore, a little tight, so we're just going to rest him today and evaluate him further.
NBC Sports Philadelphia later confirmed Wentz will not play Sunday.
Wentz hasn't missed a snap since his season began Week 3 against the Colts.
Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, who hasn't played a snap since Week 2, took the first-team reps at practice Wednesday. Nate Sudfeld will run the scout team.
The irony here is that it was in Los Angeles that Wentz suffered his season-ending knee injury a year ago this week.
Foles replaced him, rallied the Eagles to a win and then to postseason wins over the Falcons, Vikings and Patriots as the Eagles won their first NFL championship since 1960.
Pederson was vague Wednesday morning when asked when Wentz's back issues began:
We've monitored him since he tore his knee, since he damaged his knee, so we've been on him and monitoring him and listen every player's going to play with a little nagging injury from time to time, that's just the way it works in this business, and the quarterback's no exception.
Wentz has been bothered by back spasms at times earlier this season.
He was limited at practice through the practice weeks leading up to the Carolina and Jacksonville games but played in both.
Wentz was most recently listed on the injury report on Oct. 26, the Friday before the Jaguars game, when he was limited at practice at the Hazelton Rugby Complex in Sunbury-on-Thames, England.
But Wednesday's practice was the first that he missed entirely because of back issues. Wentz didn't play the first two weeks of the season as he continued to rehab his knee injury.
Have Wentz's back problems affected his performance this year? Could that be one of the reasons he's run less?
"I don't know," Pederson said. "That's probably something you'd ask him about."
The Eagles did postpone Wentz's usual Wednesday media availability.
Foles started the first two games of the season, a win over the Falcons and a loss to the Buccaneers. He completed 66 percent of his passes with one TD and one INT in those games.
The Eagles are 5-6 in Wentz's 11 starts this year. He's completed a career-high 70 percent of his passes with 21 touchdowns, seven interceptions, 3,074 passing yards and a career-high 102.2 passer rating.
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