Carson Wentz’s stay in Indianapolis has come to a crashing halt. Roughly a year after he was traded by the Philadelphia Eagles to the Indianapolis Colts for a package of premium picks, the Colts have turned around and traded Wentz to the Washington Commanders for — you guessed it — a pair of picks.
Colts trade Carson Wentz to Commanders
According to multiple reports, the Commanders have agreed to acquire Wentz and his $28 million salary from the Colts for a pair of mid-round picks. Wentz, who was publicly criticized by Colts GM Chris Ballard and owner Jim Irsay multiple times over the past two months, is now set to join his third team in as many years.
Why the Colts traded Wentz
While Wentz bounced back from one of the worst statistical seasons ever by a QB during his final year with the Eagles, the QB still had his ups and downs in his lone season with Indianapolis. He refused to get vaccinated, spent two separate stints on the COVID-19 list, and injured his foot during training camp.
Wentz played well in spurts but eventually took a backseat to the league’s leading rusher, running back Jonathan Taylor. During his final eight games with the Colts, Wentz threw for more than 200 yards just twice. He also led Indianapolis to two consecutive losses to end the season, which cost them a playoff berth. Wentz reverted to his 2020 form during a brutal season-finale loss to the last-place Jaguars, and Ballard and Irsay publicly chastised the “franchise” QB.
During the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this month, head coach Frank Reich — Wentz’s biggest supporter in the league and longtime mentor — alluded to the QB being shipped out of town. Reich refused to back Wentz, and so did Ballard, who continued to publicly twist the knife into Wentz’s trade value.
Grading the trade
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal is as follows:
- The Colts will receive a 2022 third-round pick and a 2023 third-round pick that can become a 2023 second-rounder if Wentz plays 70% of Washington’s offensive plays.
- The Commanders will receive Wentz and a 2022 seventh-round pick (Update: 3/10/12).
- The Commanders and Colts will also swap 2022 second-round picks, as the Commanders’ pick (No. 42) was slated to be better than the Colts’ selection (No. 47).
Let’s break down how all three parties made out.
Carson Wentz
The Colts’ smear campaign on Wentz didn’t do much to hurt his trade value after all. While the quarterback has been run out of another town in less than 12 months, he doesn’t have to stick around another bad situation. That said, he’s headed back to the NFC East and will face his former team, the Eagles, twice a year, with one matchup coming at Lincoln Financial Field.
Wentz probably doesn’t care about his villain status among Eagles fans, but his landing spot with an NFC East rival will make his heel turn more complete than Darth Vader’s switch to the Dark Side.
Yes, Wentz hasn’t played up to the level of his 2017 performance prior to his ACL injury. However, he is still a viable starting QB. And Ron Rivera and the Commanders clearly still believe in him enough to obtain his entire financial commitment.
A third team in three years is really bad public relations, but Wentz has never seemed to care much about that anyway. He’s out of a rough situation, but he’s also headed to one of the least appealing squads in the league. But hey, at least Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson are there, right?
GRADE: C
Washington Commanders
Well, the Commanders clearly believe in their new QB1. While giving up a pair of third-round picks and swapping a second-round pick for a potential franchise QB doesn’t sound like all that lofty of a package, Wentz’s optics are nuclear coming out Indianapolis. He’s worn out his welcome with two seemingly better-run franchises, and his previous GM and owner have done everything to poison the well publicly for his image.
It’s curious to understand why Washington was so quick to pull the trigger on Wentz immediately after Russell Wilson was sent from the Seattle Seahawks to the Denver Broncos. Perhaps this move says more about the impending QB class and Washington not finding any prospect worthy of the 11th overall pick.
Still, giving up two third-round picks after the Colts’ owner, GM, and even head coach trashed Wentz’s value seems like an odd knee-jerk reaction to the blockbuster Wilson trade. The last time Washington traded for a QB that the Eagles couldn’t wait to move on from, Donovan McNabb was an epic bust in Landover.
GRADE: C-
Indianapolis Colts
It’s possible that Rivera doesn’t care about what Irsay and Ballard think. And maybe the Colts’ front office is capable of making magic. But the fact that Ballard routinely dismissed Wentz this offseason and still got a pair of Day 2 picks for him is impressive. That said, the utter disaster that was Wentz’s 12 months in Indianapolis can’t be ignored.
Wentz played exponentially better last season than he did in 2020. And yet, the Colts got a massive downgrade in value from Washington. The Colts traded a 2021 third-round pick and their 16th overall pick in this year’s draft for Wentz. Yet, they failed to make the playoffs. While the Colts are probably patting themselves on the back for getting anything of value for Wentz following their odd offseason smear campaign, the fact of the matter is they absolutely cut off their nose to spite their face with their previous trade for Wentz.
The Colts can celebrate this small miracle of mitigating a previous disaster, but they shouldn’t be handed their flowers for this move, either.
GRADE: B-