Colts: Is Carson Wentz on the hot seat in his first season with Indy?

The Indianapolis Colts made one of the more shocking moves of the offseason when they chose to undertake the responsibility of rebuilding former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz after a horrific 2020 season that saw him benched for rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts.

The Colts, commanded by head coach and former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich, think that they have much better infrastructure than what Doug Pederson had provided in Philly following Reich’s departure, and they bet two draft picks on the notion that Wentz could be the starting quarterback for years to come.

Wentz has the arm and athletic ability to return to his Pro Bowl form of yesteryear, but he needs to work on his pocket presence in order to improve. Not only does that sound like a tall task, but he’ll have to do it under an avalanche of scrutiny.

Bleacher Report claims that Wentz is already on the hot seat despite the fact he hasn’t played a single snap of football in blue and white yet. As harsh as it may sound, the Colts quarterback might actually be under that much pressure considering what a risk Indianapolis took to even acquire him.

The Colts might be set back royally if Carson Wentz struggles.

The Colts will likely have to make a decision on Wentz as the potential franchise quarterback before the season even ends, as part of the reason they were even able to make this trade happen was the idea of a 2022 first-round pick potentially being given to Philadelphia.

Philly will get a first-round pick from Indianapolis if Wentz either plays 75% of his snaps or if he plays 70% of the snaps and the Colts make the playoffs. If Wentz is struggling right before the 75% starts to factor in, would it be inconceivable if the Colts stick him on the bench with the goal of retaining the pick?

Wentz might have his huge contract, but the Colts have the cap space needed to absorb some dead money to get rid of him. Even the cash-strapped Eagles found a way to make this deal work. On top of that, Wentz’s dead cap hits take a nose dive in 2023 and 2024. Simply put, Wentz needs to hit the ground running immediately because he’s both looking to establish a short-term and long-term standing in the organization.

The Colts are officially Wentz’s last chance. Sure, it will be his first year in a new city, but he’s running an offense he has experience in, he has better receivers than he did in Philly, and one of the best offensive lines in the league will be keeping him upright.

All of the pieces are in place. Hopefully the coaching staff caters the offense to his strong suits as best as possible since Wentz gets into the most trouble when he’s trying to do too much. That will be the most important task for 2021 and will define how the Colts view him as their signal caller towards the end of the season and beyond.

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