Carson Wentz’s Fall from Elite QB to the Cowboys’ Potential QB2

The Dallas Cowboys have left so much left to chance in 2025 in terms of their roster. Their best defensive player isn’t with the team over his contract. The running backs are a group of nobodies and nobody has faith in them. Their cornerbacks are grossly overpaid, grossly underpaid or hurt. Their inside linebackers might be the worst defensive position group in the NFL.

With just a few weeks left until the regular season opener, why add quarterback to that mix?

After watching backups Joe Milton and Will Grier struggle through the preseason, the Cowboys should look to sign a veteran who can at least be a competent replacement for starter Dak Prescott if (when?) he goes down with an injury.

The best option out there right now would be to sign former No. 2 overall pick and NFL All-Pro Carson Wentz, who is still looking for a team and the top free agent quarterback available, according to Sharp Football Analysis.

“Milton has struggled in a pair of preseason games,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote on August 17. “While he may be an attractive long-term prospect (he’s under contract for three years, and very low cash and cap numbers), Milton isn’t ready to be the understudy to Dak Prescott. Apparently, the Cowboys aren’t prepared to entrust that role to Will Grier, a 30-year-old career backup. So what can they do? Here are their options. One, sign a free agent. Good luck with that; there aren’t many out there. Carson Wentz and Ryan Tannehill are available.”

Wentz Firmly in Journeyman Era of Career

It’s been a long, slow fall from the land of NFL elite quarterbacks over the last few year for Wentz, who the Philadelphia Eagles selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.

All of that begins with the 2017 season, when Wentz earned NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors for the Eagles. At the same time, he essentially lost his job and his reputation after he suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 14 and watched as backup Nick Foles led the team to the first Super Bowl win in franchise history.

During that time, reports came out telling how Wentz and veteran running back Darren Sproles had a physical confrontation after Sproles found out Wentz was telling teammates he wasn’t happy the Eagles were winning without him.

While Wentz signed a 4-year, $128 million contract extension before the 2019 season, he was never the same player he was in 2017.

Wentz was traded to the Indianapolis Colts before the 2021 season and traded to the Washington Commanders before the 2022 season. He spent part of 2023 with the Los Angeles Rams and 2024 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Obviously, it was a tough ending, without a doubt,” Wentz told Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP before the Chiefs faced the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX in February. “It was the COVID year, too, so everything about it was just weird the way it kind of unfolde … A lot of great memories, a lot of good times. Winning the Super Bowl was amazing. A lot of memories and friendships that I’ll have the rest of my life. There are definitely no hard feelings. You wish it would have went a different way, all those things. But you can’t really kind of have any regrets on that front.”