There are times when the media and athletes reach a stalemate; a perfectly natural intersection between both professions where an athlete simply cannot give a candid and honest response and the reporter really doesn't expect one.
Case in point: Carson Wentz's news conference on Friday. Because the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Wentz, projected starter Sam Bradford tried to orchestrate a deal that would get him traded to the Denver Broncos. His agent admitted it on the record. Bradford is probably not thrilled to have Wentz there regardless of what he says moving forward and regardless of how he likes Wentz as a person. Wentz probably just wants to play well, learn the system and get along with his new teammates.
So when asked about what their personal relationship will be like -- Wentz says has not spoken to Bradford yet -- he said just about the only thing he could.
"Personally, I don't think there will be a lot of tension. People might make it out to be but the coaches and everybody will be on the same page and I think it will be a really good working relationship for sure."
Wentz added: "It is what it is, honestly. Like I've been saying all along, it's out of my control. People want to make it a big situation, but like I said earlier, we'll have a really good working relationship and I think it will benefit the team because we are going to compete, and really everybody in that quarterback room and in the entire organization is going to compete and push each other, so I think it will only benefit the team."
The plan from the outset seemed to have Wentz sitting behind Bradford for a season while learning the offense from Chase Daniel. Guess what? He's fine with that too.
"All I care about is winning," he said. "If the team's winning I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team, whether that's from third-string role, backup, starter, it doesn't matter. I'm going to do what I can to prepare and help the team. We'll see how that plays out."
At this point there isn't much more to examine. Wentz said he expects to see Bradford once the Eagles have their next set of offseason workouts on Tuesday, and maybe then they will get to know one another. And maybe then Wentz can get a feel for the situation. And maybe Bradford can decide what kind of leader he wants to be during Wentz's one-year internship, which will allow the rookie to carve out his own niche in the locker room. Maybe then Wentz can decide if this is the kind of situation he'll want to be honest about in the future.
