On Super Bowl Sunday, a bombshell report dropped from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen on NFL Countdown (video below), saying that Carson Wentz’s future in Indianapolis looks bleak; will likely be traded or released by March 18th. Because that is when 15 million dollars of his salary becomes guaranteed. This goes without saying, but this is huge for a team that just invested this year’s first and last year’s third-round pick. With the way things are trending, it is time to examine where Carson Wentz could land and what effects trading or releasing Carson could have on the Colts and Carson Wentz.
Here’s @mortreport on ESPN saying the Colts are preparing to move on from Carson Wentz pic.twitter.com/Ymg9L4bcOm
— Matt Mullin (@matt_mullin) February 13, 2022
If the Colts trade Carson Wentz before March 18th, they will take no dead cap hit and have roughly 70 million dollars in cap space to work with. A team that trades Carson Wentz will only be on the hook for 15 million dollars this year and have zero cap hit for 2023-2024, making his contract very valuable. If the Eagles could get a future first and a current third-round pick when Carson was coming off of the worst season of any starting QB in the NFL, what could the Colts get for him now coming off a much better season? This is an important question especially considering the reports of what veteran QBs could be on the market. With the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers likely returning to Green Bay, reports of Derek Carr getting extended, and Deshaun Watson’s status not clearing up whatsoever. There may not be many options available.
Carson Wentz could be one of the better Veteran QB options available on the market. Outside of Jimmy Garropolo, I don’t believe there are many viable Veteran QB options that a team can win with. Furthermore, I am confident that Wentz offers more upside than Jimmy G. Additionally, this looks to be a down year for quarterbacks in the draft. There is just a lack of viable Starting QB options, which bodes really well for the Colts and the value of Carson Wentz. Simply put, there is not enough supply to meet demand.
If the Colts decide to release Carson Wentz, they will take a 15 million dollar dead cap hit, and the only QB on the roster would be Sam Ehlinger. What the Colts decide to do after cutting Wentz is anyone’s guess right now. I think they could look into just starting Ehlinger and seeing what he has. If that doesn’t work out, you look at potentially drafting a guy in 2023 to get a Long Term QB answer. Another option for the Colts could be signing a bridge quarterback like Teddy Bridgewater or Jimmy Garropolo if he is cut. This would help the Colts remain competitive, and then they would likely look for a long-term answer in 2023.
