Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is reported to have a back fracture.
He was listed as having a back injury during Weeks 7 and 8 and had several CT scans over the course of the season. Tests this week found something new.
Wentz will reportedly not require surgery and has instead been told rest will heal the fracture.
He is likely headed to injured reserve. If this has lingered at least six weeks, it is not going to get better in the few weeks remaining in the season.
The only reasons Wentz wouldn’t be shelved would if the Eagles don't need the roster spot and/or don't want the headlines involved with putting their star QB on IR.
Some have put forth the idea of the fracture was hidden from Wentz.
I find that extremely unlikely.
No member of a medical staff would jeopardize their career over this. It would go against any of the tenets of medical practice and be illegal, unethical and cause for immediate termination with lasting repercussions in his/her medical practice.
Additionally, every imaging scan is independently reviewed by a radiologist who has likely never met the player and would not be beholden to the team, general manager or head coch. That doctor issues an independent report.
Now, there is a possibility a fracture was missed. And X-ray or a CT scan doesn't always show every fracture, as sometimes hairline fractures show up later.
So I will play Quincy, M.E. (as Bill Simmons said is what I do on his podcast two weeks ago).
If it were a major spine fracture, that would not only be difficult/impossible to play through, it would not be missed on a scan.
It could be a transverse process fracture. But those get better after a couple weeks and there would not be the concern to hold out Wentz now. Derek Carr and Cam Newton played after a one-week absence following transverse process fractures.
Could it be a minimal vetebral body compression fracture? Maybe. But it would have been heroic to have played through one. Tony Romo’s career was essentially ended after he suffered one in 2016. (He did end up playing in one game at the end of that season after Dak Prescott had taken over the Cowboys’ starting job.)
That type of fracture usually heals in six weeks. But maybe the Eagles are being extra cautious.
Given that this fracture was not detected with early scans, I fear a stress fracture could be the case here.
That is the only thing I can think of that explains the circumstances as we know them.
A stress fracture is difficult to detect, possible to play through and often shows up late on scans.
If this is the case, the worry is for the long term, and the Eagles will be strongly considering shutting him down.
I hope it is not a stress fracture. The most common is sponylolysis (stress fracture to the pars, part of the ring of the spinal canal). Healing for sponylolsis is sometimes tricky and slow.
For the record, there is no direct relationship between the ACL/LCL injuries Wentz suffered last season and the back fracture. But one could postulate an indirect link.
We have said all along that Wentz would not be 100 percent until late this season or even 2019. The injury could that have thrown off his throwing mechanics to cause extra back stress.
It’s possible, but we can't say for sure until we know what the spine issue actually is.
Let’s hope for minimal vertebral body fracture, as this heals reliably.
If it is a stress fracture, this this won’t be the last of the Wentz injury saga.
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