Commanders QB Carson Wentz: ‘It’s a wake-up call

Carson Wentz talked about everything but football on Monday in discussing Brian Robinson Jr. and the death of QBs coach Ken Zampese’s father, Ernie.

Carson Wentz stated Brian Robinson Jr. getting shot is a wake-up call to real-life problems in this world.

Speaking with the media, Wentz opened his reaction to his running back getting shot twice Sunday, “Obviously it’s heartbreaking, but obviously there’s positive news as of late and then how he’s doing, but yeah, caught, caught us all off guard yesterday.”

Wentz said he was involved with a group text of offensive lineman when he said one of the guys sent the news of Robinson being shot to the group. Wentz said he immediately called head  oach Ron Rivera, saying he thought Rivera would know best.

“I think it’s a wake-up call to everybody, he said. “There’s real-life problems out there in this world, but thankfully Brian’s doing well, I’m told, and I look forward to seeing him.”

Wentz then informed the press that quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese’s father, Ernie, had died. So there certainly are real life and death issues being experienced by the Zampese family.

“Some things obviously internally, we are just praying for our guys, you know, we’re a family and, and we want to keep it that way and pray for everybody when they’re going through stuff off the field.”

Wentz then mentioned despite the close call and Zampese losing his father; he thought practice went well. Then he suddenly went back to what was at the forefront of his mind, “…Definitely, again, it is a wake-up call that there’s a lot of things in our world that are sad and unfortunate and things wrong in our society. Yeah, we gotta all be smart.”

Wentz spoke to the humanity of each of us. “It’s sobering for sure. You know, you hear that news, and it’s like, okay, this isn’t even football anymore. Things could have obviously been a lot worse. Yes, it is very real life. It takes you away from football real quick. These are real-life issues that we all are going through, and we’re not immune to it.”

Wentz was actually asked how Robinson may be feeling, missing out on his first NFL game. Wentz may have been puzzled at first, perhaps thinking, “How would I know how he feels? I’ve never been shot twice.”

Carson then wisely countered, “Again, I don’t know kind of overall his state. Again, I haven’t spoken directly to him. Shot him a text, but I know there’s a lot going on in his world. Curious how much of that he’s even thinking about quite frankly. Because when this happens (like we just mentioned) a lot of football and all that, kind of goes to the back burner.”

Wentz chose to elaborate further, “I’m sure there’s frustration, disappointment, all that. That I’m sure he is feeling. (He’s) probably feeling a lot of different emotions, but it is unfortunate, and we’ll see what it means for him long-term and all that stuff. I have no idea. Again, I’m excited to see him back in this building hopefully soon and put this behind.”

On hearing Zampese’s dad had died and Robinson was shot, the 7th-year veteran expressed, “It is sobering. We’re so geared towards our job, everything revolves around football, and it is our life. And I try not to put my identity fully in football. But you do give a lot, you give a lot, and it’s mentally and physically taxing. I think it gives you a sense of reality and makes you realize there is a much bigger picture and there are much more important things in life. ”

Is this really the guy who was supposed to have been such a poor leader in Philadelphia and Indianapolis? Might it sound like it is Wentz who is maturely measuring things more important in life?

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