From MVP frontrunner to a journeyman playing for his third team in as many seasons, Carson Wentz’s precipitous fall from grace has been as dramatic as any we’ve seen in recent memory. After costing the Colts a playoff spot with his implosion in Week 18, Indy unloaded Wentz Wednesday, trading him to Washington for a pair of third-round picks.
Drafted second overall by the Eagles in 2016, Wentz enjoyed a sophomore breakout but injuries and locker-room turmoil would be his undoing in Philadelphia. The narrative surrounding Wentz changed overnight, developing a reputation as a high-maintenance underachiever with a penchant for wearing out his welcome.
While Wentz’s pedigree and talent make him an obvious upgrade on Taylor Heinicke, reaction to the trade was largely negative with many, including ESPN personality Michael Wilbon, taken aback that Washington didn’t aim higher in its search for a franchise quarterback.
“It just smells of desperation,” said Wilbon on Pardon the Interruption. “This is so laughable that I can’t wait to root against all of it. It will give me pleasure.”
Wilbon has been critical of Wentz in the past, dismissing the 29-year-old as a media creation inexplicably overhyped by ex-players, many of them former quarterbacks. “I can’t stand the overhyping of Wentz by former players of every network it seems, who keep telling us every year that Carson Wentz is gonna’ go here. He’s gonna’ go play for Frank Reich. And Frank Reich knows how to get the best out of him. And after one measly year, Frank Reich said, ‘See ya. I’m done,’” said Wilbon. “I will take Mitch Trubisky every day and three times on Sunday, before I take Carson Wentz.”
Wentz was not the Commanders’ first choice with Washington reportedly offering the Seahawks a slew of draft picks for Russell Wilson, a local product who spent his formative years in Richmond, Virginia. Unfortunately, the Broncos beat Washington to the punch, pivoting to Wilson after their preferred target, Aaron Rodgers, announced his return to Green Bay with a record, four-year, $200-million extension with a whopping $153 million in guaranteed money. What remains unclear is if the Commanders envision Wentz as their long-term starter or a bridge option to get them through the next season in hopes of developing a rookie like Malik Willis or Kenny Pickett, both of whom are expected to go in the first round of April’s NFL Draft.
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