Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Dakota State Bison, winning two consecutive NCAA FCS national championships between 2014 and 2015. Wentz was selected second overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2016 NFL draft, making him the highest drafted FCS player.
Wentz's most successful season was in 2017 when he helped the Eagles obtain their conference's top seed, despite suffering a season-ending injury, which led to them winning the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl LII. He also earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors. Wentz helped take Philadelphia back to the playoffs during his next two seasons, but further injuries limited his participation. After losing his starting position due to a production decline, Wentz spent his next four seasons as a starter and backup with the Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Rams, and Kansas City Chiefs. He joined the Vikings in 2025.
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Early life
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Wentz moved to North Dakota with his family at the age of three. He played quarterback and defensive back for the football team at Century High School in Bismarck, and also played basketball and baseball at the school. Inspired by his older brother, he had played ice hockey up until high school, before deciding to join the basketball team. As a freshman, Wentz was 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) in height, grew to 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) as a senior, and graduated in 2011 as valedictorian of his class.
College career
Wentz attended North Dakota State, redshirting his first season with the Bison as they won their first Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) title under ninth-year head coach Craig Bohl.
As a redshirt freshman in 2012, Wentz was the backup quarterback to Brock Jensen and played in his first collegiate game on September 22. He completed all eight of his passes for 93 yards and threw his first touchdown in relief of Jensen in a 66–7 blowout victory over the Prairie View A&M Panthers. Wentz finished the season completing 12-of-16 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
Wentz was again the second-string quarterback in 2013 and appeared in 11 games. He had his best game that season on October 13, against Delaware State, completing 10-of-13 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Wentz finished his redshirt sophomore season completing 22-of-30 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown.
Wentz became the Bison starting quarterback during his junior year in 2014. In his first start in the opener against the Iowa State Cyclones of the Big 12 Conference, Wentz completed 18-of-28 pass attempts for 204 yards in a 34–14 victory on August 30. During the game against the Western Illinois Leathernecks on October 10, he caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from running back John Crockett and helped lead the Bison to a 17–10 comeback victory. Statistically, Wentz's best game that season was against the Missouri State Bears, where he threw for 247 yards and five touchdowns.
Wentz led NDSU to a 15–1 record. On January 10, 2015, he started in his first national championship game against the Illinois State Redbirds and passed for 287 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 87 yards and scored a touchdown on a five-yard run to give the Bison the lead with 37 seconds left. NDSU won their fourth consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship game, 29–27. Wentz started all 16 games in 2014, completing 228 of 358 passes for 3,111 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He was also the team's second leading rusher, rushing for 642 yards and six touchdowns.
As a fifth-year senior in 2015, Wentz had one of the best games of his career on October 10 against the Northern Iowa Panthers, when he passed for a career-high 335 yards. The following week against the South Dakota Coyotes, Wentz suffered a broken wrist in the first half but managed to complete the game with 16-of-28 completions for 195 yards and two touchdowns as the Bison lost 24–21. After starting the first six games of the season and completing 63.7 percent of his passes for a total of 1,454 yards and 16 touchdowns, Wentz missed the next eight weeks of the season after undergoing surgery to his broken throwing wrist. He returned to practice in the beginning of December and was cleared to play in the national championship. On January 9, 2016, Wentz led the Bison to its fifth straight FCS title, running for two touchdowns and throwing for a third. He was named the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game Most Outstanding Player for the second straight year.
Professional career
Pre-draft
In February 2016, most analysts had Wentz projected to be selected in the mid-first round of the draft. However, Wentz began to be regarded as a Top 10 prospect after his pro day. On January 30, 2016, Wentz played in the 2016 Reese's Senior Bowl and finished the game completing 6 of 10 pass attempts for 50 yards. At the NFL Scouting Combine, Wentz showcased his athleticism as he was in the top three in the 40-yard dash, the broad jump, and the three-cone drill among all quarterbacks. Wentz also reportedly scored a 40/50 on his Wonderlic test.
Philadelphia Eagles
On April 28, 2016, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Wentz in the first round with the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. He was the first quarterback the Eagles selected in the first round of an NFL draft since Donovan McNabb in 1999, who was also taken second overall. Wentz was also the highest-selected FCS quarterback taken in draft history and the first FCS quarterback taken in the first round since Joe Flacco in 2008. The Eagles traded three top 100 picks in 2016, a first round pick in 2017, and a second round pick in 2018 in order to move up in the draft order and get him. On May 12, Wentz signed a four-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $26.67 million .
Wentz suffered a rib injury in the team's first preseason game of 2016, but was fully healthy for the beginning of the 2016 regular season. Originally intending to have Wentz sit and learn for the 2016 season, those plans changed when the Eagles traded quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings in September. That same day, it was also reported that the team planned to start Wentz for the 2016 season when he became healthy. On September 5, Wentz was named the starter for the season-opener against the Cleveland Browns. In that game, he threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns during the 29–10 victory. Wentz was named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for Week 1. In the next game against the Chicago Bears, he threw for 190 yards and a touchdown during the 29–14 road victory. He became the first rookie quarterback since 1970 to win his first two games of the season and not throw an interception. The following week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wentz had 301 passing yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles won 34–3. He was named the National Football Conference (NFC) Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Steelers. During a Week 9 28–23 road loss to the New York Giants, he was 27-of-47 for a season-high 364 yards and two interceptions.
In his rookie season, Wentz started all 16 games for the Eagles as they finished the season with a 7–9 record. Wentz threw for a league-record 379 completions by a rookie, breaking the record of 354 held by Bradford, who was with the St. Louis Rams at the time. His 379 completions also set a single season franchise record, breaking the record of 346 also held by Bradford from the previous season. Wentz also set a single season franchise record with 607 pass attempts, the second highest attempts by a rookie in league history only trailing Andrew Luck, who had 627 in the 2012 season.
In Week 1 against the Washington Redskins, Wentz finished with 307 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception from a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage as the Eagles won by a score of 30–17. In the next game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Wentz threw for 333 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. In addition, he rushed for 55 yards in the 27–20 road loss. In a Week 5 34–7 rout over the Arizona Cardinals, Wentz finished the game with 304 yards and a career-high four passing touchdowns. In the first five games of 2017, he passed for 1,362 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions. After this start, NFL insiders and reports ranked Wentz as a possible NFL MVP. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 7 after passing for 268 yards and a career-high tying four touchdowns in a 34–24 victory over the Redskins. Two weeks later against the Denver Broncos, Wentz finished with 199 passing yards and four touchdowns as the Eagles won 51–23.
Indianapolis Colts
Wentz was traded to the Indianapolis Colts on March 17, 2021, in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 first-round pick. He was reunited with former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who had since become the head coach of the Colts.
During training camp, Wentz suffered a foot injury that required surgery. Despite the foot surgery, he was able to return in time for the September 12 season opener at home against the Seattle Seahawks, where Wentz completed 25-of-38 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns; however, the Colts fell short 28–16 in his Indianapolis debut. Wentz passed for a season-high 402 yards and two touchdowns in a 31–25 overtime road loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5.
Wentz threw for 3,563 yards, 27 touchdowns, and seven interceptions as the Colts finished the season 9–8, but failed to qualify for the playoffs after a loss in Week 18 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Washington Commanders
Wentz, along with the Colts' second and seventh round picks in the 2022 NFL draft, were traded to the Washington Commanders on March 16, 2022, in exchange for 2022 second and third round picks and a conditional third-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. In his debut with the Commanders, Wentz threw for 313 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions in a 28–22 victory over the Jaguars.
In Week 3, Wentz made his return against his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Wentz completed 58% of his passes for 211 yards and was sacked nine times and fumbled twice during the 24–8 home loss. In the 21–17 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 5, Wentz threw a game-sealing interception to linebacker David Long Jr. in the red zone. In the win over the Chicago Bears, Wentz fractured his ring finger on his throwing hand. Wentz was placed on injured reserve on October 22 and re-activated on December 12, although he did not regain his starting duties due to the emergence of Taylor Heinicke as the team's starter.
In Week 16, Wentz came in relief of Heinicke after he was benched in the fourth quarter, where he completed 12 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown in the 37–20 road loss to the San Francisco 49ers. With the Commanders needing to win their final two games to make the playoffs, head coach Ron Rivera reinstated Wentz as the team's starting quarterback in Week 17. He had a poor performance against the Browns completing 16 of 28 passes for 143 yards, one rushing touchdown, and three interceptions during the 24–10 loss. The loss and wins by the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions on the same day resulted in the Commanders being eliminated from playoff contention.
On February 27, 2023, the Commanders released Wentz after one season with the team.
Los Angeles Rams
On November 8, 2023, Wentz signed with the Los Angeles Rams to be the backup to Matthew Stafford. He was announced as the starter for the Rams' final regular season game against the 49ers after the team secured a playoff berth the previous week. In the game, Wentz threw 17-for-24 for 176 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He also rushed for a 12-yard touchdown with 2:53 left in the fourth quarter, then completed a crucial two-point conversion to Tutu Atwell to help lead the Rams to a narrow 21–20 road victory over the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.
Kansas City Chiefs
On April 2, 2024, Wentz signed with the Kansas City Chiefs to be the backup to Patrick Mahomes.
In Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns, Wentz replaced an injured Mahomes midway through the fourth quarter in a 21–7 victory. With the number one seed in the AFC secured, Wentz was named the starter for the Chiefs' regular season finale against the Denver Broncos. In the matchup, Wentz completed 10-of-17 passes for 98 yards and no touchdowns as the Chiefs were shut out in a 38–0 loss. The Chiefs were able to reach Super Bowl LIX but lost 40–22 to Wentz's former team, the Eagles.
Minnesota Vikings
On August 24, 2025, Wentz signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a backup to J. J. McCarthy. On September 15, it was announced that Wentz would start for the Vikings in their Week 3 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He is the first quarterback to start for six different teams in six consecutive seasons. Wentz was injured during the team's matchup with the Cleveland Browns, subsequently wearing a shoulder sleeve. He remained the starter for the next two games. During a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, Wentz suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. At the time he had completed 15-of-27 passes and a touchdown in the game, with one interception. Wentz's season finished with a total of six touchdowns, five interceptions and 1,217 passing yards.
On March 19, 2026, Wentz re-signed with the Vikings on a one-year, $3 million contract.
Career statistics
Career highlights
Awards and honors
NFL
Super Bowl champion (LII)
Second-team All-Pro (2017)
Pro Bowl – 2017
Bert Bell Award (2017)
FedEx Air Player of the Year (2017)
2× NFL Top 100 — 3rd (2018), 96th (2019)
NFC Offensive Player of the Month – October 2017
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month – September 2016
2× NFC Offensive Player of the Week (Week 3, 2016; Week 7, 2017)
3× Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week – Weeks 1, 3, and 5, 2016
Total quarterback rating leader: (2017)
College
5× FCS national champion (2011–2015)
Eagles franchise records
Passing yards in a season: 4,039 (2019)
Passing touchdowns in a season: 33 (2017)
Pass completions in a season: 388 (2019)
Pass attempts in a season: 607 (2016 & 2019)
Personal life
Wentz has been married since 2018 and has four daughters.
Wentz is a Christian. He founded the AO1 Foundation in 2017. In 2018, Wentz helped build a sports complex in Haiti. He is an avid hunter and frequently returns to North Dakota to hunt.
Wentz's older brother, Zach, played college baseball, pitching for the North Dakota State Bison team from 2009 to 2012. After a brief stint with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, he went into teaching, before heading the AO1 Foundation, alongside former Bison quarterback Cole Davis. Wentz's younger half-brother, Luke Domres, played both baseball and football at high school level, but chose to concentrate on his studies, graduating magna cum laude from Arizona State University.