Jump to content

Carson Wentz injury: Where do Colts go from here if QB misses start of season? Plus impact for Eagles' pick


time2rock
 Share

Recommended Posts

Carson Wentz injury: Where do Colts go from here if QB misses start of season? Plus impact for Eagles' pick

 

The Colts have some options to consider while Wentz is out

Jeff Kerr
 
By Jeff Kerr
 
Jul 30, 2021 at 7:52 pm ET4 min read
 
 
 
 
CarsonWentz.jpg

Justin Casterline / Stringer

Carson Wentz suffering a significant injury in the first week of training camp was not what the Indianapolis Colts envisioned. Wentz is reportedly visiting a foot specialist and may require surgery after being declared out indefinitely. If Wentz does get surgery, the new Colts quarterback will miss significant time -- potentially the first few games of the season.

The Colts brought Wentz to Indianapolis to become their next franchise quarterback, a proven signal-caller that can lead a Super Bowl-caliber roster. With Wentz's immediate future uncertain, Indianapolis is back to square one at quarterback -- searching for answers as the team seeks a return trip to the playoffs.

What does Indianapolis do at quarterback with Wentz on the mend? Fortunately, the Colts are only through a few days of practice and Week 1 isn't until Sept. 12. There's plenty of time for the Colts to settle on a quarterback or search outside the organization while Wentz is out. 

kerr1.JPG.5b27e9a028fda76c01af0e4d21a0baa0.JPG

There are quite a few options for the Colts to consider over the next few weeks. 

 

Trade market

Nick Foles

kerr2.JPG.5a24ecccca6bb71b5850aa6656f5838b.JPG

There are a few quarterbacks with starting experience that could intrigue the Colts to get them through the first few weeks of the season. Foles is a familiar name that has had success in Frank Reich's offense with the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2017. 

Foles, the Super Bowl LII MVP, had a postseason for the ages filling in for Wentz. He completed 72.6% of his passes for 971 yards with six touchdowns to one interception in three games during the Eagles' Super Bowl run. Reich and former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson used a combination of RPOs to make Foles more comfortable in the offense. 

Foles is the third string quarterback on the Chicago Bears, making $6.67 million to sit the bench. The Colts may want to have a reliable backup for Wentz and Foles isn't a bad alternative. Wentz may not prefer to relive the ghosts of Foles that haunted him in Philadelphia. 

Gardner Minshew

kerr3.JPG.b348ee6bc832ccd725279ebccb94a68a.JPG

Minshew may say he's competing for the No. 1 job with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he's the backup to Trevor Lawrence. Unless Lawrence suffers an injury, Minshew isn't seeing the field and will be holding the clipboard throughout the season. 

Imagine Minshew with an actual coaching staff to help him hone his skills? Having John DeFilippo and Jay Gruden as his offensive coordinators didn't help Minshew develop, despite a decent start to his career. 

Minshew has started 20 games for the Jaguars over his two NFL seasons, completing 62.9% of his passes with 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions (93.1 rating). Minshew is 25th in the league in completion percentage, 20th in touchdowns, and and fourth in interception percentage (1.38) since entering the league in 2019. His 93.1 passer rating is the 12th highest for a quarterback after their first two seasons (minimum 500 attempts). 

Familiar with the AFC South, having Minshew fill in for Wentz with a more talented offense would help the Colts -- especially since their first five opponents each won 10-plus games last season. The Colts need to give themselves a chance or face a disastrous start.

Minshew would give them that opportunity. 

Go with the in-house option

kerr4.JPG.158c1b56e9b6654166a4b092d35f961c.JPG

The Colts can just roll with Jacob Eason, the current No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart, while Wentz is out. The 2020 fourth-round pick has never taken an NFL snap in the regular season or preseason (there was no preseason in 2020), which will change come August. 

Eason will have the opportunity to prove to the Colts he can take command of the offense. With a year of NFL experience under his belt, Eason should have a grasp of commanding a huddle and understanding the offense. The lack of game reps is very concerning, even with the Colts' talented roster. 

"He's getting better every day," Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady said Friday. "The biggest thing is we just want to continue getting him reps. There are plays that he hadn't seen and this is his first time getting the live rep. 

"He's going to learn from it, he's going to make the mistakes. He made some good plays, he made some bad plays and we just have to continue to grow and make sure that he's improving and learning from those mistakes."

Be patient with Wentz

Wentz's injury history is well-documented, and he has rushed himself back from a significant knee injury once in his career. While the Colts would like to get him back as early as they can for 2021, the coaching staff needs to let Wentz's foot heal properly. 

This is why adding a veteran quarterback is important. Wentz is the unquestioned starter in Indianapolis and an experienced quarterback gives him an extra week or two to get back into playing shape. 

The veteran quarterback pool in free agency isn't good, which is why the Colts need to seek a signal-caller via trade. 

How does this affect the Eagles?

The Eagles traded Wentz to the Colts for a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick. That second-round pick can become a first-round pick if Wentz accomplishes these things in 2021:

  • Plays 75% of the regular-season snaps or
  • Plays 70% of the regular-season snaps and Colts make playoffs

Philadelphia's chances of Wentz playing 70% of the regular-season snaps aren't good with this injury. Another reason why the Colts should take their time with Wentz: they have him under contract until the 2024 season, so there's no need to rush him back. 

The Colts just need to make the best out of a bad situation. The Eagles are still getting a high draft pick for 2022 and already have two first-round picks next year. 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/carson-wentz-injury-where-do-colts-go-from-here-if-qb-misses-start-of-season-plus-impact-for-eagles-pick/?fbclid=IwAR1cXSXoCC2m7OWpaVyub_N4TgjBdDCYj8GB8bpXY5hlo66Up5L18O2bt8c

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Firstly... And this is not a dig at you @time2rock but quite frankly I don't care what the Colts do if Wentz misses time. This is the beauty with having traded him, he is no longer our problem and his injury issues are not our concern. 

Secondly, if they brought in Foles that would be absolutely brilliant!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...