KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Carson Wentz had the idea years ago, when he had no reason to believe he would play for the Kansas City Chiefs, that it would be good for him to play with Andy Reid and Matt Nagy.
The idea came to him from Nick Foles, then a teammate with the Philadelphia Eagles who played for Reed in Philadelphia and in Kansas City and for Nagy with the Chiefs.
“I remember all the good things he said about his time here,” Wentz said Thursday after he signed his one-year contract with the Chiefs to be Patrick Mahomes' backup at quarterback. “He absolutely loved it. He loved working with those guys, and those things he said to me at the time were definitely still true in my head when I was making that decision.”
“I just remember all the positive things he said about the organization and the coaches…those things were definitely a factor and gave me more peace and comfort in knowing what I was going to do.”
Wentz, 31, is on his fifth team in five seasons having gone from starting with the Eagles as recently as 2020 and the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders in the following two seasons to backup with the Los Angeles Rams last year. Before signing with the Rams last year later in the season, “sitting out wasn't necessarily the most fun,” he admitted. [and] Waiting for a call every week.”
He said he has accepted that he is a reserve for now, and said that after some tough moments last year, he is grateful for every opportunity, even if “I'm on the sidelines with a hat on.”
“The reason I'm here today is just because of the winning culture and seeing it from afar, seeing it in the league the last couple of years.” [and admiring] “It's been that way for years,” Wentz said.
“That was a big piece of the puzzle for me. Wanting to be here on a winning team, in a good culture, in a good community with a good fan base, it seemed like a good fit.”
“Student. Incurable problem solver. Amateur baconaholic. Introvert. Infuriatingly humble music fanatic.”