Carson Wentz's time with the Indianapolis Colts is over, and the 29-year-old quarterback is about to join his third team in as many seasons. According to reports, the Washington Commanders have acquired Wentz in exchange for draft picks, and they're also assuming his entire $28 million salary for 2022. Both teams are swapping second-rounders this year, and the Colts will also receive a third-rounder in 2022 and a conditional third-rounder in 2023.
According to Zak Keefer of The Athletic, the Colts concluded that the Wentz experiment was a blunder well before reaching a deal with the Commanders. When the regular season ended, the Colts' front office decided Wentz's time was over, and head coach Frank Reich reportedly apologized to team owner Jim Irsay for pushing to acquire Wentz last year. The team gambled and lost.
"Frank Reich's a good coach. He believed he could fix Wentz, he believed he could flip Wentz and turn him into the 2017 Wentz. Obviously, he was wrong," CBS Sports NFL writer Will Brinson told the Reiter Than You show on Thursday. "That is the ultimate point here. If Reich has given up on you, one year into it, man, I wouldn't be buying whatever the Colts are selling. And Washington's in a weird spot, too. They've been turned down by Stafford, Russell Wilson.
"Their Plan C, D, or E was Wentz, and Wentz wasn't going to turn them down. It's late at the bar, and it's Wentz and the Commanders. I'd be surprised if it works out... If you're giving up multiple draft picks and paying anything at all for a QB you need to hide, then I think, ultimately, that's going to be a failed outcome. I'm out on Washington with Wentz... I hope they can fix him, but I have many hesitations about that."
Wentz's last game with the Colts was arguably the worst of his career. With a wild-card berth on the line in Week 18, their offense scored just 11 points in a 26-11 upset loss to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. Wentz completed 17 of 29 passes for 185 yards, and also produced a career-low 4.4 QBR. The Colts' pair of late-season losses cost them a trip to the AFC playoffs.
The Commanders can only hope that Wentz is still repairable. And if there's a reason for optimism, he did play a career-high 17 games, and threw for 3,563 yards with 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. If the move flops in Washington, they could part ways with him after 2022 without dead cap hits. The final two years of Wentz's contract don't include any guaranteed money.
The entire NFL conversation between Brinson and Reiter can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Reiter Than You show on Twitter @sportsreiter and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.