The Indianapolis Colts may have a lot of options when it comes to choosing a future quarterback.
The NFL has become a league that requires an elite-level quarterback to make it to the Super Bowl. That is a fact that fanbases around the NFL will have to face now.
In this past season’s playoffs, the Divisional Round featured Josh Allen, Tom Brady, Joe Burrow, Jimmy Garoppolo, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, and Ryan Tannehill.
That’s not even all of the elite talent in the NFL at the quarterback position. The league is going to get harder and harder to win games in the playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl.
After the Los Angeles Rams won a Super Bowl after pushing all their chips in and got players like Stafford, Von Miller, and Odell Beckham, Jr., it’s clear that teams in a “win-now” mentality need to do something similar.
There are a lot of different options for the Indianapolis Colts and other teams that are looking for a quarterback upgrade in 2022. Who will be the quarterback in Indianapolis in Week 1 next season? Should the Colts push all their chips in to get a proven quarterback?
Let’s take a look at Indy’s quarterback options from worst to best.
Ranking Colts quarterback options
Derek Carr could be moved this off-season considering he has only played in one playoff game during his stint with the Raiders. He is currently under contract with Las Vegas, so a move to the Colts would require a trade.
His cap hit in 2022 is just under $20 million. Could Indy swap Carr and Wentz this off-season in a clean play swap?
Carr has been serviceable in Oakland and Las Vegas. In the years that he’s had a decent team around him, he’s been good enough to be competitive. He really needs a complete team that is capable of going to the next level, and Indy is essentially that team minus a few positions.
There should be no surprise that Carson Wentz falls this low on the rankings here for the next Colts quarterback. He makes the cut on this list because he is still on the roster.
All of the talk this offseason so far could just be smoke. The Indy front office could be pushing Wentz to play better in 2022, and that’s what we are seeing publicly.
#Colts will probably trade or release Carson Wentz before March 19 guarantee date, per @mortreport.
— Locked On Colts Podcast (@LockedOnColts) February 13, 2022
Wentz’s future in Indy reportedly looks “bleak” right now. pic.twitter.com/Masa6oNAeh
The overall play in 2021 was not the worst Indy has ever seen. The decision-making in the later games and fourth quarter was often questionable. There were more mistakes made than game-winning drives. When it mattered most, the Colts lost the game, partly because of Wentz.