Zach Ertz says Carson Wentz is extending himself more, hopes drama is in past

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Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz was the subject of an unflattering article in January centered on quotes from anonymous teammates and others around the team that described him as selfish, lacking humility and not as accountable as he should be.

Wentz took issue with some of the things in that article, but said he realized he had shortcomings and could be a better teammate. Wentz appears to have taken some action to do that this offseason.

Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer profiled Wentz ahead of the start of the regular season and Wentz said he’s “a little more relaxed” than he was last season and that he’s spent more time with teammates on both sides of the ball that he has in the past. Defensive end Brandon Graham said that the article could have been “a good thing” because it made Wentz more introspective and tight end Zach Ertz had a similar take while discussing the changes in the quarterback.

“There was a lot of drama last year, on the field, off the field,” Ertz said. “So we’re just trying to get ahead of that and focus on being great teammates. I feel like that article, whether it was true or not, Carson looked internally and didn’t brush it off. He reflected and tried to see that even if I’m not perfect, how can I be better? And I think he’s a little more outgoing and made an effort, for instance, to take us all out to dinner. He’s extended himself this year, and hopefully all that drama stuff will be in the past.”

Wentz got his new contract this offseason and he’s worked to repair areas where he might have been falling short in the past, which leaves his ability to stay healthy for a full season as the one big question left to answer this year.