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Report: Carson Wentz's Lack of Leadership, Resistance to Coaching Frustrated Colts
March 9, 2022
Carson Wentz's personality reportedly played a larger role than his play in his abrupt departure from the Indianapolis Colts after one season.
Zak Keefer of The Athletic reported the Colts were frustrated with Wentz's "lack of leadership, resistance to hard coaching and reckless style of play." Some members of the organization "were finished" with him even before Indianapolis ended the regular season with consecutive losses and missed the playoffs.
The Colts agreed to trade Wentz to the Washington Commanders in exchange for two third-round draft picks (2022 and 2023), the latter of which can become a second-round selection if Wentz plays 70 percent of the offensive snaps next season. The teams will also swap second-round picks in this year's draft.
The Colts agreed to trade Wentz to the Washington Commanders in exchange for two third-round draft picks (2022 and 2023), the latter of which can become a second-round selection if Wentz plays 70 percent of the offensive snaps next season. The teams will also swap second-round picks in this year's draft.
This is the second time in as many offseasons that Wentz has been traded, and it's the second time he's leaving an organization that doesn't appear too sad to see him go. Rumors of Wentz's poor attitude were persistent throughout his time with the Philadelphia Eagles, culminating in the team swallowing a $33.8 million dead cap hit last season to move on.
The Eagles are the clear winners of that deal a year later. They now hold the Colts' No. 16 overall pick in April's draft because Wentz reached playing-time benchmarks last season.
Meanwhile, Indianapolis is set to have a different Week 1 starter for the sixth consecutive season in 2022. The fact that the Colts moved on with no clear plan for a new starter—and no obvious names available after Aaron Rodgers decided to stay in Green Bay and the Seattle Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos—is a sign of how poorly things were going behind the scenes.
The Colts could trade for a veteran such as Jimmy Garoppolo, but Garoppolo is arguably a worse quarterback than Wentz. It would not make sense for Indianapolis to give up more draft compensation for another water-treading quarterback if it were not for major personality conflicts behind the scenes.
The Colts could instead sign a stopgap in free agency—Jameis Winston, Mitchell Trubisky and Teddy Bridgewater top the free-agent list—but they likely envision themselves as a playoff team. They likely aren't going to be willing to take a major step back in 2022 and figure to make a move at quarterback sooner than later.