By Jordan Long
The Indianapolis Colts experiment with Carson Wentz is over after one season. The Colts are now looking to either trade or cut the quarterback during the offseason.
The Colts took a chance by acquiring Carson Wentz on February 18th, 2021 from the Philadelphia Eagles. Colts’ quarterback, Philip Rivers, just retired and they were looking for a veteran to replace him. They thought Wentz was the best option. The Colts sent a 2021 3rd round pick and a 2022 2nd pick that turned into a 1st– round selection since Wentz played more than 75% of the offensive snaps this past season to the Eagles. The Colts were hoping Wentz would lead them back to the playoffs.
Heading into the final game of the year against Jacksonville, the Colts stood at 9-7. All they needed to do was to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars and they would be in the NFL playoffs as a Wild Card team. Unfortunately, the team fell apart and they lost 26-11. In that game, Wentz tossed for a disappointing 185 yards, 1 touchdown, and an interception. His line didn’t give him time to throw the football and he was sacked 6 times. This doesn’t count the amount of time the defense of the Jaguars pressured or hit him.
Wentz finished the year with an impressive 3,563 yards passing. He was able to find his receivers for them to gain yards. Wentz tossed 27 touchdowns. The stat that stands out is how careful he was throwing the football. He rarely threw the ball into double coverage or to a receiver who wasn’t open, totaling an impressively low 7 interceptions.
Looking at that, why would the Colts want to trade or release a quarterback who played well for them? He may not be a franchise quarterback but he could be better than what there is in free agency or even acquiring a quarterback threw a trade.
Wentz is scheduled to earn a base salary of $22 million and a cap hit of around $28 million, a lot to take on for a team. A franchise will have to restructure his contract so the cap hit is less. If the colts were to cut him, it would only cost them $15 million in dead cap space.
The Colts trading or cutting him doesn’t make sense. They have around $37 million to spend in free agency as of right now. That could help build the offense around Wentz. The Colts, though, must think Wentz is not part of their future plans.
The Colts will look for a trade partner and if not they will let him go. The Colts will most likely have a new player under center in 2022. For Wentz, all signs point to him being in a new uniform once the season starts next year. That could be as a starter or might be as a backup. Either way, he will have a new beginning with a different team.
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