By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
When you look back on the Eagles offseason and every move that was made, it revolved around one player in particular: Carson Wentz.
It was long speculated that the Eagles wanted to draft and mold a quarterback of Wentz's caliber, but after a mediocre season that landed them a mid-range draft pick, it seemed virtually impossible.
That was until Howie Roseman put together an offseason that would put the screenwriters behind Draft Day to shame. The Eagles traded all of the key, dead weight acquisitions from Chip Kelly's last season — DeMarco Murray, Kiko Alonso, Byron Maxwell and finally, on Saturday, Sam Bradford.
Moving Bradford at first, seemed to be about putting Wentz in the clear No. 2 spot, opening the door for more playing time in his first season. But, as sources told Eagledelphia, the Eagles plan to start Wentz, and even if that isn't the season opener, it's clear this is now Wentz's team to lead and the offense's success rests on the rookie.
There are obvious reasons as to why this decisions is risky. For one, the Eagles are a playoff contender to a mild degree. They play in arguably the worst division in the NFL and could essentially make the playoffs with and 8-8 record.
Which is where the concerns about Wentz come in. Assuming Wentz starts in Week 1, he would be fresh off an injury for fractured ribs, certainly a concern moving forward. The injury was suffered in Wentz's first preseason action, meaning that he only saw the field for one half in the entire preseason.
For as important as the reps were in training camp drills, the situation reps of a preseason game were even more crucial. And while we saw poise, determination and raw talent in that one half of play, being able to see that success repeated would have been a little bit more of a reassurance.
In the same way, not only would the situations within a game helped for repetition and consistency, it would help with footwork, speed, release and targeting receivers. These are things so invaluable to a quarterback's development and should not be overlooked. So, truth be told, the Eagles shouldn't rush Wentz into anything.
That said, when Wentz debuted, he was solid, determined, played the game with a fearless approach that cannot be taught. His poise was through the roof. The confidence with which he carried himself was clearly on full display. With that kind of serious nature on the field, Wentz certainly looks mentally ready to go. It's the physical aspect, most notable from a performance and health standpoint, that make this decision crucial.
But the Eagles were also always heading in this direction at some point. Never did they say they were trading up to acquire a quarterback talent so he could sit on the bench and develop. There was simply an order of doing things and the Eagles weren't rushing.
This, then, is the move that will define Howie Roseman and quite possibly Doug Pederson, even though the first-year coach doesn't have a regular season game under his belt yet. What they have seen in camp has them so confident that they are willing to put Wentz on the field in Week 1 with only one half of football played in the entire preseason.
What the Eagles did with Bradford was honestly smart. They waited out the market, were fully prepared to go into the season with Bradford, and when a team came calling with the offer the Eagles were looking for all along, they not only regained a first-round pick for 2017, but still had a veteran option to use in front of Wentz as he learned and developed.
That said, even with little to no experience, some of the skills Wentz showed were better than Chase Daniel all through camp. If it was based solely on performance, Wentz was probably already the better quarterback, which says a lot, and that may be why the Eagles are so willingly handing things off to Wentz and asking him to go and lead a team in his rookie season.
There will be growing pains as there is with any rookie, but that confidence from the Eagles in Wentz can only boost the confidence as the Eagles move forward to build a contender around Wentz and mold him into a star quarterback.
But it's clear in the Eagles own vote of confidence that Wentz is in control. This is his team to lead. Ready or not, Wentz is going to have to face the challenge, whether it is in Week 5 or Week 3 or next Sunday in Week 1. And if there's anyone tough enough to do it, it's Wentz.
