INDIANAPOLIS – Little fresh earth was uncovered as Chris Ballard was asked to look back and look ahead and answer a zillion Carson Wentz-related questions.
Well, there was the nugget that T.Y. Hilton, who’s been contemplating retirement after his 10th season with the Indianapolis Colts, is seriously considering an 11th season.
“I had a good talk with T.Y. after the season,’’ Ballard said Tuesday from the NFL Scouting Combine. “As of a couple of weeks ago, he wanted to play again. We’ll talk again.
“T.Y. can still play. Like, I wanna make that (clear), T.Y. can still play.’’
There was more T.Y. talk. He’s exceptionally smart, understands the game inside and out, and has instincts that are off the charts.
Will he return to the Colts? That’s anyone’s guess.
And that sets the stage for the crux of Ballard’s long give-and-take with the media.
T.Y. Hilton’s status is important, but pales in comparison to the elephant that followed Ballard into Exhibit Hall K at the Indiana Convention Center.
That would be Carson Wentz.
And whether there will be a year 2 to the inconsistent and unfulfilling year 1.
For those seeking concrete direction – he’ll be back; he’ll be jettisoned after March 16, the start of the new league year; he’ll be traded – there was none.
It wasn’t an all-Wentz, all-the-time discussion as Ballard stood behind the podium, but it was close.
After an opening statement that extolled the city’s efficiency at hosting the NFL Scouting Combine for a 35th year, Ballard took questions.
The first, of course, was whether the Colts have arrived at solution at quarterback.
“That’s fair,’’ he said.
Then.
“I don’t know,’’ he continued. We’re still working through it, and I know I’m going to get a lot of questions about Carson right now. I don’t have a direct answer for you.
“We’re through it.’’
The “we,’’ essentially, is Ballard, owner Jim Irsay and coach Frank Reich.
“We’ll sit down over the next 10 days and figure out where it’s going,’’ Ballard said. “But ultimately, we’ll do what’s best for the Colts, both in the short term and the long term.’’
Whatever discussion takes place over the next week or so, everything points to the Colts moving on from Wentz barely a year after acquiring him from the Philadelphia Eagles for third- and first-round draft picks.
Ballard made it clear it’s critical for a team to believe in its quarterback, so it was only natural for him to be asked whether the Colts believe in Wentz on the heels of the team’s historic collapse over the final two weeks of the season.
“Fair enough,’’ he said. “Not saying we don’t, but in the long-term best interests for us, as we sit down and walk through whether Carson’s the long-term best answer or not is the best way I can put it.
“We’re not there, yet. I’m not there, yet. And that’s something that we’ll talk about as a group and move forward. Whatever decision we make will be the best one for us.’’
The fact no one in the organization has even moderately supported Wentz speaks volumes. It’s believed Irsay is ready to reload at QB and have Reich handle a fifth starting quarterback in his five-year stint as head coach.
“There’s good discussion going on,’’ Ballard said. “And I think if you’re all agreeing, that’s one of the misnomers. You can have a good relationship and disagree . . . but ultimately when we make the final decision, we walk out, all three together, with whatever that decision is.’’
So disagreement remains?
“I wouldn’t say disagreement,’’ Ballard said, “but it’s something we’ll sit down and discuss.’’
He stressed the difficulty of finding “the right guy.’’
“It’s the most scrutinized position in sports. It is,’’ he said. “And I think one of the most difficult to play in sports because you’re playing a position where you’ve got to make accurate throws with people actively trying to hurt you.
“And then the scrutiny that comes with the position. It’s week to week in our league.’’
Ballard and Wentz had a one-hour meeting earlier Tuesday.
“It was good. It was really good,’’ he said. “I think learning to handle the criticism, and what I think you always have to ask yourself . . . is the criticism fair? I’ll take in if it’s fair. If it’s not fair, then what am I doing? I’m not wasting headspace on that. But if the criticism is fair, then we’ve got to be able to look internally and accept that and grow from it.
“It’ll be interesting to see how he grows from this. I think he will.’’
The unanswered question: Where?
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