Wentz to be shipped to Washington
Former No. 2 pick traded for package of draft selections
The Indianapolis Colts are moving on from Carson Wentz after one season, sending him to a team he’s familiar with from his days in the NFC East.
The Colts agreed to trade Wentz to the Washington Commanders, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the deal cannot be finalized until the start of the new league year next week.
Washington is getting the 47th pick in the draft along with Wentz and sending Indianapolis Nos. 42 and 73 this year and a 2023 conditional third-rounder that can become a second based on Wentz’s playing time, according to a different person with direct knowledge of the move.
Wentz, 29, has three years remaining on his contract with salary cap hits of $28.3 million, $26.2 million and $27.2 million (all U.S.). The No. 2 pick of the 2016 draft went 9-8 with Indianpolis last season and missed the playoffs.
This will be the sixth consecutive year the Colts will have a different opening day starter, though Jacoby Brissett took over when Andrew Luck missed the entire season in 2017 and again in 2019 when Luck abruptly announced his retirement in August.
Indianapolis coach Frank Reich urged the Colts to acquire his former Eagles pupil 13 months ago and continued to support Wentz throughout the season and off-season.
“Stability is ideal, continuity is ideal, you long for that,” Reich said last week. “I believe in Carson. I stuck my neck out for him last year. I was a big part of that decision to get him here and I believe he’s going to have a lot of success as a quarterback whether that’s here or somewhere else.”
General manager Chris Ballard was not convinced. In January, after Indy lost its final two games to miss the playoffs, Ballard said he wanted to have a quarterback who could play 10 to 12 years, while acknowledging it doesn’t always work that way.
On the same day Reich spoke at the combine, Ballard told reporters he wanted a quarterback he believed could be a long-term solution, before quickly explaining his words were not intended to suggest he didn’t believe in Wentz.
“As a long-term answer for us, I’m just not there yet,” Ballard said. “You’ve got to be right (at quarterback) and, even if you’re not right, you’ve got to keep firing away until you get it right. We’ve got to get it right.”
It’s unclear where Ballard and Reich will turn next, though there are a plenty of names being bandied about in trade talk and in free agency, which begins next week.
Washington coach Ron Rivera evidently does believe in Wentz. The move to acquire a former face of a division rival is the once-storied franchise’s latest attempt to shore up a quarterback situation that has been in flux for decades.
Washington has started 12 different quarterbacks since acquiring veteran Alex Smith from Kansas City in 2018. That includes Smith, who broke his right leg 10 games into his tenure there.
Adding Wentz likely relegates previous starter Taylor Heinicke to a competition with Rivera favourite Kyle Allen for the backup job.
Wentz has thrown for 3,008 yards, 140 touchdowns and 57 interceptions in six NFL seasons. The North Dakota State product has been dogged by injuries.
He tore the ACL in his left knee in 2017, paving the way for Nick Foles to take over and lead the Eagles to the first Super Bowl title in franchise history.