INDIANAPOLIS – Even now with Carson Wentz a little more than a year removed from his divorce from the Eagles, it’s still clear that all roads lead to Rome, or, in this case, Wentz.
He’s still the center of attention for two franchises, but the repercussions extend to a third and quite possibly become a fourth in the coming months.
There are the Eagles, who cut bait and ended up with a first- and third-round draft pick when they traded him to the Indianapolis Colts.
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No doubt, the Eagles will be laughing all the way to the NFL draft podium when they use the Colts’ first-round pick at No. 16 overall in April.
But that’s after the Eagles had to endure the indignity of watching Wentz sabotage the 2020 season, followed by having Wentz count $34 million against the salary cap last season to NOT play for them.
And it’s the same way with the Colts as Wentz sabotaged the Colts’ 2021 season. This after head coach Frank Reich admittedly “stuck my neck out for (Wentz),” only to see Wentz collapse over the final two games of the season when the Colts missed the playoffs.
Reich made it seem Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine that the Colts might not want any part of Wentz in 2022.
That’s how toxic Wentz has become.
And then there’s former Eagles coach Doug Pederson, newly hired with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who built Wentz into a Super Bowl- and MVP-caliber quarterback in Wentz’s second season in 2017, before overseeing Wentz’s dramatic demise in 2020.
That, of course, led to Pederson’s firing.
Pederson has a second chance with the Jaguars, and he mentioned Wentz in his plan to build up prodigy Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick last spring.
“That’s the great thing about taking over with with having a young quarterback, much like what we did in Philly with Carson,” Pederson said Tuesday. “And how in (Wentz’s) second year, we saw the growth and everything.
“Trevor’s coming into that second year this year, and … I think sky’s the limit. Obviously we we’ve got some work to do, and nothing is perfect, and we’re looking forward to that.”
But Pederson steered clear of discussing Wentz’s regression over the last two seasons. Pederson admitted visiting with Wentz and the Colts last summer at training camp. That was as far as he would go.
“With some of my life circumstances, I didn’t watch a ton of football, quite honestly,” Pederson said about last season. “I wanted to really unplug from it. And it’s hard to really honestly speak to a lot of that because I really don’t know.”
Of course, the Colts won’t openly admit that they’re willing to cut bait, just like the Eagles didn’t, because, well, they want to get something in return in a potential trade.
“I don’t have a direct answer for you,” Colts GM Chris Ballard said when asked if Wentz will be the Colts’ quarterback in 2022.
Reich was more expansive, but still said the same thing.
“I believe in Carson,” he said. “I was a big part of that decision to get him here. And so, you know, I believe he’s gonna continue to have a lot of success a quarterback.
“That might be here. It might not be here. That decision has yet to be determined.”
If Reich had clamored for Wentz to come to Indianapolis, and if the Colts had given up the two draft picks to get him, then what does it say about Wentz that his future is in doubt?
“I think that’s just the way it played out,” Reich said. “We didn’t finish the season the way we should have … If we finished the season the way we were supposed to, we’re probably not having this discussion.”
But we are having this discussion because the Colts lost their last two games and missed the playoffs. And we’re having this discussion because Wentz refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
So when Wentz contracted the virus in late December, he had to miss the entire week of practice even though the NFL had just relaxed the quarantine period from 10 days to 5.
Wentz didn’t miss any games. But his lack of practice that week (he wasn’t allowed in the facility until he was cleared the day before the game), showed in the Colts’ loss to the Raiders, when he missed a wide open T.Y. Hilton for what should have been an easy touchdown.
And it showed the next week, in the season finale, when the Colts were embarrassed by Lawrence and the sad-sack Jaguars.
All of that left a bad taste with the Colts, just like Wentz’s handling of his demotion late in the 2020 season in favor of Jalen Hurts left a bad taste with the Eagles.
So the questions persisted because the Eagles made the playoffs behind Hurts on his rookie contract.
The questions persisted because the Colts are now the ones stuck with Wentz’s massive contract, having to take a $15 million dead money hit if they release or trade him, or pay him $22 million if they keep him.
And they persist because Pederson has a second chance with a prodigal quarterback in Jacksonville, knowing that his success as a coach rests on turning Lawrence into the MVP-caliber that Wentz was, and not the embattled, fragile quarterback that he has become the last two seasons.
So when asked how he plans to develop Lawrence, Pederson replied: “I think the fundamental part of the game is not going to change in how we developed Carson, you know, from the ground up, and that’s something that we’re excited about.”
If that doesn’t work, then Pederson won’t last long in Jacksonville.
That’s why the Colts might be willing to go with a fifth different starting quarterback in five season instead of a second season with Wentz.
The Eagles learned this lesson the hard way, too.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
