Doug Pederson: This season a “great opportunity” for Carson Wentz

[Swoop]

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Doug Pederson was around the NFL as a player and an assistant before getting the head coaching job in Philadelphia and that left him with no doubt about the importance of having the right relationship with his starting quarterback.

Pederson notes that’s not always easy, but the coaches and quarterbacks that have been successful “have built that lifelong relationship” that he’s trying to build with Carson Wentz. The last two years have brought obstacles in the form of injuries that have taken Wentz out of action, but the team still signed him to an extension this offseason and Pederson heads into the season focused on the positive things Wentz can accomplish.

“This is also a great opportunity for Carson, to really regain the type of player he is to what we saw in 2017, and really what we saw in 2018 when he was playing,” Pederson said, via Zach Berman of TheAthletic.com. “He is a tremendous competitor. He is a tremendous leader, and quite frankly, I don’t think a lot of that bothers him. He just moves on. He is excited for this new season. It is a new team, there are new guys around him. He is energized, he feels good and I am just excited for that.”

Pederson said the team’s offseason work was “rejuvenating” and that he’s pleased to have continuity after last year saw a lot of change to the coaching staff in the wake of a Super Bowl title. That might not wind up mattering much if the team has to scramble at quarterback during the season, which makes Wentz’s ability to capitalize on his opportunity all the more significant to the outlook for 2019 in Philadelphia.