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Carson Wentz

Latest On Colts’ Carson Wentz

September 20th, 2021 at 9:55am CST by Zachary Links

Colts quarterback Carson Wentz is dealing injuries to both of his ankles (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Wentz will undergo tests today to learn more, but this doesn’t bode well for his future availability. 

Wentz was forced out in the fourth quarter against the Rams on Sunday. That’s when his right ankle twisted underneath Aaron Donald.

“He rolled it up pretty bad,” Colts coach Frank Reich said (via ESPN.com). “I had a sense when he walked off the field. It didn’t look good. Sometimes if you go back in right away when it’s still warm you can maybe gut out a few more plays. The longer we were off the field, it stiffened up and he tried, but there was no chance.”

Now, we know that Wentz’s left ankle is also in bad shape. Second-year quarterback Jacob Eason — who stepped in and went on to lob an interception — will likely start for the Colts in Week 3 and possibly longer.

“Felt it right away. Tried to tape it up and do everything I could to finish the game,” Wentz said. “I’ve sprained my ankle probably 100 times since I was a kid. This one I just couldn’t play on it.”

The Colts, now at 0-2, badly need to get in the win column. They’ll likely be without Wentz on Sunday when they face the Titans in Nashville. After that, they’ve got two more road games before they return home to Indy.

Colts QB Carson Wentz To Start Week 1

September 12th, 2021 at 8:18am CST by Rory Parks

Colts QB Carson Wentz will be under center for the regular season opener against the Seahawks this afternoon, as Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com write. A Week 1 return was looking more and more likely for Indy’s new signal-caller, and his presence will obviously be key in the Colts’ push for a return to the postseason.

Wentz underwent surgery on August 2 to deal with an old broken bone in his foot that had chipped and splintered. The Colts initially announced a vague five- to 12-week timetable, and according to Pelissero and Rapoport, the wide range of possible return dates was because no one knew until Wentz went under the knife what type of surgery he would require.

If doctors needed to insert a screw to secure the splintered piece of bone, Wentz would have missed two to three months. Luckily, the bone fragment was simply removed, and Wentz’s recovery proceeded without complications.

Head coach Frank Reich said Wentz will not be limited in any way, though the offensive play-calling may be just a bit more conservative than it normally would be.

“As far as what he can do, he can do everything,” Reich said. “What will we actually call? Will we keep the reins on a little bit? Probably. Probably so. I just think that makes sense. I just think we’ll manage it. We’ll be smart.”

Wentz will be protected by All-World left guard Quenton Nelson, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Nelson underwent foot surgery of his own in August, but he subsequently battled a back issue that put his Week 1 status in doubt.

Unfortunately, left tackle Eric Fisher will not suit up today, as Schefter notes in a separate tweet. That means Julie’n Davenport will be protecting Wentz’s blind side.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/2/21

September 2nd, 2021 at 7:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

  • Placed on IR: WR Aaron Parker

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Released from IR with injury settlement: LB Asmar Bial

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Released from IR with injury settlement: DT Chris Okoye, OL Tyree St. Louis

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

  • Released from IR with injury settlement: RB Brian Hill

Washington Football Team

  • Released from IR with injury settlement: OT Rick Leonard

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/30/21

August 30th, 2021 at 4:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to pare their rosters down to 53 players.

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Darron Lee

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Colts’ Wentz, Nelson To Return To Practice

August 22nd, 2021 at 5:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

More good news for the Colts’ foot-injury ward. Both Carson Wentz and Quenton Nelson are set to be back at practice Monday, according to Frank Reich.

While each will be back on the field in a limited capacity, this news bodes well for the prospect of each starting the season on time. This possibility emerged last week, and nothing has taken place to indicate that was an overly optimistic timetable. Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly will also be back at practice Monday, per Reich. Kelly has been out with an elbow injury.

Both Wentz and Nelson underwent foot surgeries in early August. The Colts initially announced a vague five- to 12-week timetable for Wentz, with the latter outcome thrusting the likes of Jacob Eason and Sam Ehlinger into the spotlight. Indianapolis may soon be off the hook from having to use either as a September spot starter, though Wentz missing extensive training camp time certainly hurts as he prepares to start for a new team.

Nelson, who has never missed a game as a Colt, has emerged as perhaps the NFL’s premier guard. He is 3-for-3 in first-team All-Pro appearances; no other post-merger offensive lineman has accomplished that feat. Nelson will be on track for a record-setting extension come 2022, with the Colts having already taken care of 2018 draftees Darius Leonard and Braden Smith.

The Colts are currently battling issues on their O-line, which has just Smith and Mark Glowinski healthy among the team’s optimal first-string quintet. But with Nelson and Kelly on their way back, Eric Fisher‘s timeline would be the only uncertain matter on the Colts’ offensive front.

Colts’ Carson Wentz, Quenton Nelson To Play Week 1?

August 11th, 2021 at 8:52am CST by Zachary Links

Great news for the Colts. Quarterback Carson Wentz is “trending” to play in the season opener against the Seahawks (Twitter link via Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com). Ditto for All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson, who also underwent foot surgery. 

[RELATED: Colts Extend Frank Reich, Chris Ballard]

Things were looking bleak for the Colts just a few days ago as both players were projected to miss a chunk of September. Nothing’s certain just yet, but it appears that Wentz and Nelson will be good to go after all. With Wentz under center, Jacob Eason and Sam Ehlinger will no longer have to cram for the QB1 role — the youngsters are now back to competing for the backup job.

Nelson, meanwhile, should be able to man LG to start the year. Now, the Colts just need more good news on the rest of their front five. Center Ryan Kelly is still nursing an elbow injury that’s keeping him off the practice field while new left tackle Eric Fisher is working his way back from an Achilles tear. Fortunately, Kelly’s elbow issue doesn’t seem all that serious and the latest word on Fisher is promising, even though there’s no timeline for his full return just yet.

“Yeah, I’ve seen him – just watching a couple of his workouts with our trainers working him out, I think he looks really good,” head coach Frank Reich said this week. “In fact, I saw him doing something the other day and I yelled over, ‘Put some pads on him!’ I thought he looked that good.”

The Colts hope to have all three lineman healthy with support — not spot starts — from Chris Reed and Sam Tevi.

Latest On Colts’ Quarterback Situation

August 10th, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

7:45pm: As Holder reports, Wentz was at practice today with no protection on his foot and no obvious limp. Reich called Wentz’s outlook “very encouraging,” and regardless of how the Ehlinger/Eason battle plays out, it doesn’t sound like either young passer will be holding the reins too long.

12:32pm: The Colts have thus far opted against acquiring a veteran to run their offense while Carson Wentz rehabs, and the team will begin giving rookie Sam Ehlinger a longer look to fill the post.

Ehlinger has worked his way into the mix here, with Frank Reich indicating Tuesday (via The Athletic’s Stephen Holder, on Twitter) the sixth-round pick has looked good enough in practice to split first-team reps with Jacob Eason. Eason will start the Colts’ first preseason game, but Reich adds (via ESPN.com’s Mike Wells, on Twitter) the second-year QB and Ehlinger will split starter reps in the team’s joint practices against the Panthers on Thursday and Friday.

While Ehlinger has outplayed Eason during Colts camp, this does mark a bit of a change from the team’s view of its current quarterback situation. Reich said last week Eason would remain in the driver’s seat for the role, despite Ehlinger impressing early. Now, the two appear to be in a true competition.

A four-year starter at Texas, Ehlinger was the 10th quarterback off the board this year. The No. 218 overall pick does bring considerably more game work than Eason, who transferred from Georgia to Washington but declared for the draft after one season as the Huskies’ starter. Ehlinger threw 1,476 passes with the Longhorns. Eason, Georgia’s primary starter in 2016, attempted 782 in college. The latter, however, was viewed slightly better through an NFL lens and became a 2020 fourth-round pick. Eason has yet to take a snap in a game, with the COVID-19 pandemic nixing last year’s preseason slate and Philip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett ahead of him on Indy’s 2020 depth chart.

This year’s Colts QB hierarchy may involve Wentz in the not-too-distant future. Initially given a vague five- to 12-week timetable to recover from foot surgery, Wentz will be re-evaluated in two weeks, per Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, who adds the Colts are expecting him to return on the front end of this timetable (video link). As of now, the team envisions its preferred starter to be back early in the season.

The Colts could stash Wentz on IR to start the year, carrying him onto their 53-man roster and parking him on the injured list for at least three weeks. However, Wentz hitting the front end of his rehab timetable would likely induce the Colts to keep him on their active roster and play this week-to-week.

Colts Won’t Pursue QB Trade

August 2nd, 2021 at 9:54pm CST by Ben Levine

The Colts may be without Carson Wentz for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean the team will pursue a trade. Chris Mortensen reports (via Twitter) that Indy won’t be making a trade for the likes of Nick Foles, Gardner Minshew, or Marcus Mariota.

[RELATED: Carson Wentz To Have Surgery, Out 5-12 Weeks]

The reporter notes that Wentz could begin rehabbing his foot after two weeks and “hasn’t been ruled out” for Week 1 (although he admits this is an optimistic timeline). Mortensen opines that if the “relatively safe surgery and rehab” happens to go awry, then the team could reconsider a trade for a quarterback. The organization did provide a rather wide timeline for Wentz’s return, with head coach Frank Reich suggesting that the recent acquisition could be back within five to 12 weeks. The early side of that timeline could see Wentz on the field against the Seahawks to begin the year.

Following news of Wentz’s impending foot surgery, we learned that the Colts wouldn’t be pursuing a trade for Foles, who’s currently buried on the Bears depth chart. It makes sense that the sentiment would apply to other signal callers; Minshew and Mariota wouldn’t be available for cheap, and the Colts front office probably isn’t willing to give up assets for what could end up being a backup.

With Wentz temporarily sidelined, the Colts will instead move ahead with their collection of backups. 2020 fourth-round pick Jacob Eason should see a larger role, although it’s worth noting that the quarterback has barely seen the field in three of the past four years (including his time in college). The Colts also recently added Brett Hundley, but the veteran hasn’t started a game since he went 3-6 in nine games with the Packers in 2017.

Nick Foles On Potential Trade

August 2nd, 2021 at 2:27pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Bears brought in both Andy Dalton and Justin Fields this offseason, leaving Nick Foles in an awkward spot. He’s currently getting paid a lot of money for a third-string quarterback, so it’s been thought all offseason that a trade could be logical if the right situation arose.

That may have just happened with the Carson Wentz foot injury in Indianapolis. It’s looking like Wentz may miss a significant chunk of regular season time, and Indy doesn’t have any great options to fill-in right now. Foles happened to speak to the media Monday, and appeared to be angling for a trade to the Colts without outright saying it.

Foles raved about Colts head coach Frank Reich, saying “listen, Frank Reich is one of my favorite, if not favorite, coaches of all time,” (Twitter link via Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network). He revealed that there were already a couple of trade opportunities that came the Bears’ way but said “I don’t want to go to someone I don’t know,” (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune).

For what it’s worth, veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson was told the Colts have had no “substantive ‘pt-to-pt’ talks” with the Bears about trading for Foles yet (Twitter link). It seems to be a real possibility and Indy could make it happen but “everybody, including Carson Wentz, would have to be onboard,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network says (Twitter video link).

Of course, Foles filled in for an injured Wentz during the Eagles’ legendary Super Bowl run while Reich was Philly’s OC, so there’s a lot of history here that could complicate things.

Meanwhile, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets the financial breakdown of what Foles would be owed if acquired in a trade. He’s got a $4MM guaranteed salary for 2021. In 2022 he’s got a guaranteed $4MM roster bonus with a $4MM base salary ($1MM of which is guaranteed). Essentially the Colts would have to pay him $4MM this year and at least $5MM next year if they traded for him. Nothing seems imminent, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear more.

Carson Wentz To Have Surgery, Out 5-12 Weeks

August 2nd, 2021 at 1:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Yesterday, it was reported that Carson Wentz was looking to avoid surgery on his troublesome foot and heal up with rest and rehab. Clearly over the past 24 hours that was ruled out, since Colts head coach Frank Reich announced Monday that Wentz would have surgery and be sidelined for the next 5-12 weeks.

That’s a pretty open-ended timetable for a return, so it’s anyone’s guess as to when Wentz will actually be back under center. Five weeks could have him back right in time for the start of the regular season, 12 weeks means he’d miss almost half the regular season. Reich revealed the injury isn’t exactly new, with doctors telling the team it may date back to Wentz’s high school football days.

Apparently there’s an old broken bone in his foot that has now become loose. The surgery will be to remove the bone. It’s a tough blow for a Colts team that had playoff aspirations. They’ve been tight-lipped about the situation, and it’s also unclear what they plan to do at quarterback if Wentz does in fact miss regular season games.

They could go with last year’s fourth-round pick Jacob Eason, who didn’t sniff the field as a rookie, or with former Packers and Cardinals backup Brett Hundley who they just signed the other day. Hundley does at least have a decent amount of starting experience. Rookie sixth-round pick Sam Ehlinger from Texas is on the roster as well, and a trade for a veteran is a distinct possibility at this point.

There are also significant draft pick implications with this timeline. When Indy made the trade with the Eagles to land Wentz, they agreed to give up a 2022 second-round pick. However, that pick becomes a first-rounder if Wentz plays 75 percent of the team’s snaps this season, or 70 percent and they make the playoffs.

It’ll be very interesting to see how that now plays out. If Wentz is going to come very close to missing say a fourth of the season, it might be in the team’s best interest to sit him an extra week and save the ever valuable first-round pick.

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