The Indianapolis Colts are putting themselves in a tough situation with the ongoing Carson Wentz saga.
The morning of the Super Bowl, it was reported that the Indianapolis Colts would trade or release Carson Wentz by March 19. That hasn’t happened yet but it has become increasingly clear that Wentz is not unanimously wanted within the organization.
Just about every day since the initial report, there have been more reports detailing how or why Indy wants to move on. There have been rumors of behind-the-scenes issues with Wentz and also claims that Colts owner, Jim Irsay, is responsible for putting the news out.
No matter how the news got out or why Indianapolis has come to this decision, the fact is, everyone knows Indy would rather enter next season with another quarterback— even Carson Wentz.
That can be a problem for Indianapolis.
#Colts are “actively looking” for a new starting quarterback, per @RapSheet.
— Locked On Colts Podcast (@LockedOnColts) February 25, 2022
Colts could be setting themselves up for failure
As much as Indy, and other teams, would love to upgrade at quarterback, the hard truth is that there aren’t many options to do so.
The entire NFL is monitoring the situations of a few quarterbacks that may be on the move. The two who will be the most-coveted are Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson, but they have to decide that they want to leave their current teams.
Then, there’s possibly a Kyler Murray situation, that doesn’t look like it will result in the Arizona Cardinals trading him. There’s also Deshaun Watson in Houston, but he’s in the midst of a serious legal situation.
That leaves players like Jimmy Garoppolo and Jameis Winston and many would consider it a lateral movement for Indy if they were acquired in exchange for Wentz.
That means if the Colts are unable to land Rodgers or Wilson then they are doomed.
Colts are banking on landing Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson
Without Rodgers or Wilson, Indy will either have to go into next season with a quarterback that is on the same level or below Carson Wentz or they will just run it back with Wentz. Both situations would be bad for Indianapolis.
If the Colts land a quarterback in the same tier as Wentz they essentially just caused a lot of commotion and didn’t get better. Not to mention the possible cap hit or picks that could be lost in a trade.
But if Indy runs it back with Wentz, they risk getting a worse version of Carson, downgrading from the QB the franchise is ready to move on from.
As much as players say they don’t pay attention to the news, there’s no way that Wentz isn’t aware of the noise around his name. Like with any relationship, when trust is broken, it’s hard to go back to the way things were before.
The trust is broken right now between Carson Wentz and the Colts. He knows that there are voices in the building that want to get rid of him. If Indy fails to do that, Wentz can’t just gleefully walk back into the facilities as if the team didn’t try to replace him.
Wentz was in a similar situation in his final year with the Philadelphia Eagles. It didn’t seem like Philly was fully committed to Wentz and that created a rift between him and people in the organization. As a result, Wentz’s on-field performance declined.
He had the worst year of his career and it became evident that he needed a fresh start. Wentz got that fresh start with the Colts and was able to bounce back statistically.
His numbers with Indianapolis mirrored the production of his better days post his knee injury. However, that wasn’t enough to guarantee his job security.
Now, the Colts are putting all their eggs into the basket of landing Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson. If Indy is unsuccessful, it will have to navigate an awkward situation and hope not to waste another year of an immensely talented roster.
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