It’s safe to say that Carson Wentz left a terrible impression on the rest of the NFL during his one year with the Indianapolis Colts.
According to Mike Sando of The Athletic, the Colts were ready to go in literally any other direction over keeping Wentz for the 2022 season. An anonymous executive used basically those exact words to Sando:
“They were telling us they would prefer anyone over him,” the executive said.
That same executive went on to evaluate Wentz as a “Tier 3” quarterback heading into 2022. He even speculated that Wentz might not even be in the league anymore if he weren’t a former first-round pick.
Via Bleacher Report:
“The only reason I’m this strong against him is that is my evaluation from watching him play. But adding information of what the team that is with him on an intimate level on a daily basis, by going from having Wentz to having none, zero, that tells me that my evaluation of him from afar matches the evaluation internally. If Carson Wentz was not a first-round pick, would he be in the league right now?”
Carson Wentz went 9-8 as the Colts starter in 2021. But losing back-to-back games to finish the season cost the Colts a trip to the playoffs.
The Colts immediately sought to wash their hands of Wentz and traded him to the Washington Commanders in exchange for some mid-round picks.
Clearly Wentz has lost the respect of a lot of executives who once saw him as a quarterback who had one bad year in Philadelphia.
We’ll see if he can redeem himself in Washington this season.