As the saying goes: When it rains, it pours.
The Colts had to weather another storm from Carson Wentz on Sunday, when the Colts quarterback allowed two untimely turnovers in a loss to the Jaguars that knocked Indianapolis out of the playoffs.
While Wentz wasn’t all bad in 2021, his future in Indianapolis is pretty murky, at least if you read between the lines of Frank Reich’s latest comments. On Monday, the Colts coach did not commit when asked about Wentz’s status as a starting QB in 2022.
“We loved the team we had this year, we knew everyone we brought in this year, we hoped to play winning football,” Reich said. “Next year’s roster will be next year’s roster. I don’t want to open it up about one player and then start talking about all of them.”
Reich would explain the answer, saying he “thinks” Wentz is his quarterback, but he will have to go back to the drawing board to see how exactly the 9-8 Colts missed the playoffs.
Wentz’s redemption tour, to say the least, was better than his last season with the Eagles, but there weren’t enough questions answered about his viability as a franchise QB going forward.
Wentz finished the 2021 season with 3,563 yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions, but the numbers aren’t particularly indicative of the lackluster QB he was in his first season at Indy.
Wentz’s contract also comes into play: If the Colts cut Wentz before June 1, they will incur a maximum penalty of $ 15 million, but save just over $ 13 million. If they find a business partner, they save $ 28 million in capitalization space.
There was some hope that rejoining Reich, alongside whom Wentz had his best seasons as a quarterback, would rekindle Wentz’s career.
Now, it looks like Reich might be regretting the meeting.