The Washington quarterback Carson Wentz reminds me of

As I'm watching Alex Smith lead the Washington Football Team to a victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving to go into first place (only to slide into second after the Giants won on Sunday), I began thinking of the similarities of a Washington quarterback to the Eagles Carson Wentz. No it's not Smith, but former QB Robert Griffin III, better known as RGIII.

Like Wentz, the Washington team traded up for Griffin in 2012, sending the St. Louis Rams their first-round draft choices in 2012 and 2013 and 2014, which turned out to be the second pick in the draft, as well as their second-round pick in 2012. In 2016, the Eagles traded three top 100 picks in 2016 that were acquired by trading away starters, a first-round draft choice in 2017, and a second-round in 2018 to acquire Wentz. The stage was set for a long future of quarterback stability for both teams, or was it?

Griffin had an incredible first year setting records for highest passer rating for a rookie quarterback, and led the Washington team to it's first playoff appearance since 2007. Griffin injured his knee in the 14th game of that season, then re-injured it on the playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. He was never the same again and ended up being released on March 7, 2016, then passing, but not succeeding through Cleveland, and now backing up Lamar Jackson in Baltimore.

Wentz, expecting to sit and watch Sam Bradford play his rookie season was instead named the starter when the Eagles traded Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings. In 2016, Wentz led the Eagles to a 7-9 record. The best was yet to come for Wentz.

In 2017, Wentz would set the league on fire. His name was constantly in the mix for league MVP until he suffered a torn ACL in a game against the Los Angeles Rams. Nick Foles would take over the quarterback duties and lead the Eagles to their first ever Super Bowl win. The following year, 2018 Wentz still trying to recover from his previous injury would go on to hurt his back and Foles would again step in and lead the Eagles to a playoff win over the Chicago Bears. In 2019, Wentz became the first quarterback in Eagles franchise history to throw for over 4,000 yards but would again get hurt in a playoff loss to Seattle.

Here we are in 2020, this bizarro of a year when we see the Eagles who win the Super Bowl in 2017, then gone back to back to the playoffs struggling in the NFC East with a 3-7-1 record and Carson Wentz struggling with a league-high 15 interceptions so far. There's talk of benching him in Philadelphia in favor of rookie Jalen Hurts.

Wentz's star has definitely fallen in Philadelphia. Eagles fans should hope it hasn't fallen as badly as Griffin's did in Washington. If it does, it could hurt that franchise for years.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise. Any opinions expressed are Steve's own. Steve Trevelise is on New Jersey 101.5 Monday-Thursday from 7pm-11pm. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.