The Indianapolis Colts had an interesting development on Tuesday when quarterback Sam Ehlinger saw first-team reps with the offense for the first time during training camp.
While head coach Frank Reich said last week there were no plans of doing so, it seems those plans have changed. Now, the Colts will continue to split the first-team reps between the rookie Ehlinger and Jacob Eason.
“It wasn’t anything with Jacob doing anything wrong. This is meritocracy and Sam has looked good. So, we decided to split it up,” Reich told reporters Tuesday. “The good news is they both looked sharp today. Jacob had a really good day today, Sam looked good. We’ll continue to split those reps and just take it day-by-day, but happy with how they both looked today.”
Eason has been inconsistent throughout camp at the starting quarterback with Wentz out. He’s shown flashes of development, which is encouraging, but there are plenty of concerns with how the offense will look if he has to start games. Considering he’s essentially a rookie himself, it’s important for him to stack successful days.
Reich did say that Eason will get the first-team reps during the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 15 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“They’ll both get a lot of reps. We’ll split the reps with the ones more than likely in practice at quarterback against the Panthers,” Reich said. “In the game, I’m not going to try and split it like that in the game, we’ll just let one guy go. Jacob will probably start and go. Then Sam will come in sometime whenever – mid-second quarter.”
Ehlinger has looked more poised and has the ability to create more with his legs. However, he lacks true arm strength and would likely be working more in a short-passing game type of playbook. Still, the Colts have been impressed with Ehlinger’s quick progression.
The Colts are hoping that Wentz will be ready for Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks. It’s reportedly trending that way, but the team won’t know for sure until next week.
But for now, it’s official. The Colts have a quarterback competition on their hands between Eason and Ehlinger.
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