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Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Carson Wentz had the thought years ago, when he had no reason to believe he would ever play for the Kansas City Chiefs, that it would be a good thing for him to play for Andy Reid and Matt Nagy.
The thought came to him from Nick Foles, then a teammate with the Philadelphia Eagles who had played for Reid in both Philadelphia and Kansas City and Nagy with the Chiefs.
“I remember all the good things he had to say about his time here,” Wentz said after he signed his one-year contract with the Chiefs to be Patrick Mahomes‘ backup at quarterback. “He absolutely loved it. He loved working with those guys and those things he said to me back then definitely still ranked true in my head as I was making this decision.
“I just remember all the positive things he said about the organization, coaches … Those things were definitely a factor and gave me a little more peace and comfort in knowing what I was getting into.”
Wentz, 31, is on his fifth team in five seasons as he’s made the transition from starter with the Eagles as recently as 2020 and the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders the next two seasons to backup with the Los Angeles Rams last year. He acknowledged that before signing last year with the Rams later in the season “it wasn’t necessarily the most fun sitting out [and] waiting for a call every single week.”
He said he’s accepted that for the time being he’s a backup and after some trying moments last year, he’s grateful for every opportunity, even if “I’m on the sideline, wearing a hat.”
“Why I’m here today is just the winning culture and seeing it from afar, seeing it around the league for the last couple of years [and admiring] it for years,” Wentz said.
“That was a big piece of the puzzle for me. The desire to be here on a winning team, in a good culture, in a good community with a good fan base seemed like a good fit.”