{"id":207935,"date":"2025-01-03T17:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T22:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=207935"},"modified":"2025-01-03T17:01:37","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T22:01:37","slug":"chiefs-wentz-mahomes-broncos-darnold-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/01\/03\/chiefs-wentz-mahomes-broncos-darnold-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs QB Carson Wentz Gets Good News Before Start Against Broncos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kansas City Chiefs quarterback <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/04\/04\/carson-wentz-opens-up-on-fit-with-chiefs-after-signing-in-free-agency\/\" target=\"_self\">Carson Wentz<\/a> is on deck to start Week 18 versus the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/broncos\/\" target=\"_self\">Denver Broncos<\/a>, in place of the resting <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/21\/mahomes-message-chiefs-texans-dell-injury\/\" target=\"_self\">Patrick Mahomes<\/a>, and the former is facing a tremendous opportunity. Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, has made no secret about looking to notch a potentially devastating win over the Broncos.<\/p>\n<p>Doing so would only help his cause before he heads to free agency after the season.<\/p>\n<h2>Carson Wentz Gets Good News Before Week 18 Start for Chiefs<\/h2>\n<h3>Chiefs QB Carson Wentz Could Be Next Sam Darnold<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cA name I&#8217;ve <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rydunleavy\/status\/1874862974357364898\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">heard a few places in the NFL<\/a> is that Carson Wentz is most likely to be next year&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/21\/sam-darnold-vikings-quarterback-dynasty-outlook\/\" target=\"_self\">Sam Darnold<\/a> (if there is one, no guarantee). Ex-starter who had some success, coming off time with Sean McVay and Andy Reid,\u201d New York Post\u2019s Ryan Dunleavy posted on X on January 2. \u201cNow he&#8217;s going to play this Sunday for #Chiefs\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wentz, 32, signed a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Chief in free agency. He is five years older than Darnold, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/vikings\/\" target=\"_self\">Minnesota Vikings<\/a> in free agency during the 2024 offseason.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">WENTZ FINDS WORTHY FOR 6\u203c\ufe0f <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bFmoVUBNIz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/bFmoVUBNIz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Chiefs\/status\/1824910042086142351?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Darnold was the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 and, like Wentz, made several stops between the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/jets\/\" target=\"_self\">New York Jets<\/a>, who drafted him, and the Vikings who can be the No. 1 seed in the NFC.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/minnesota-vikings\/darnold-mccarthy-free-agency-cousins-mayfield-contract\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Projections have called<\/a> for Darnold to see a contract starting at over $100 million.<\/p>\n<h3>Broncos Were in Contact With Carson Wentz During Free Agency<\/h3>\n<p>Notably, Wentz drew interest from the Broncos. Denver head coach Sean Payton spoke about keeping in touch with the former <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/eagles\/\" target=\"_self\">Philadelphia Eagle<\/a>, where Payton was once a position coach long before Wentz donned the jersey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cListen, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=U2UZfmVR8CI\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he\u2019s in this league for a reason<\/a>,\u201d Payton told reporters on January 1. \u201cHe\u2019s big, strong. He was a first-round draft pick. We spoke during the offseason a little bit with him and his agents. And so, shoot, it\u2019s the player. But it\u2019s also everything around it and understanding what they\u2019re trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has touted Wentz\u2019s ability to be a starting QB in the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s started in the league and been successful,\u201d Reid told reporters in December. \u201cHe&#8217;s got a great feel for this offense. Very smart. Big arm.\u00a0 I like the way he carries himself. I like everything about him. He <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SportsRadio810\/status\/1869107223877886407\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">should be starting in this league somewhere<\/a>, so he&#8217;s a heck of a player.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Carson Wentz Eager to Operate in Andy Reid Offense<\/h3>\n<p>His last start came in Week 18 against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/49ers\/\" target=\"_self\">San Francisco 49ers<\/a> of the 2023 season with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/rams\/\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Rams<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Wentz\u2019s last start before that was in Week 17 of the 2022 season.<\/p>\n<p>Wentz has completed 62.7% of his passes for 22,312 yards, 153 touchdowns, and 67 interceptions in his career. He said he is eager to showcase his skillset in the Chiefs\u2019 offense, noting Reid\u2019s prowess as a play-caller.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m still the same guy. I\u2019ve still played,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QlAqjkE6S3c\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wentz told reporters<\/a> on January 1. \u201cBut every offense does have its own nuances and kind of play styles. And some move the pocket more, and some do this more. And so I\u2019ve been in a couple different ones now, and so I\u2019m excited to have Coach Reid calling it for me and kind of seeing what that\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a big game for the Chiefs QB.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2879,"featured_media":207940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[248,7811,1576,1535],"class_list":["post-207935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chiefs","tag-carson-wentz","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-patrick-mahomes","tag-sam-darnold"],"modified_by":"Josh Buckhalter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207935"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207946,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207935\/revisions\/207946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}