Chris Ballard won’t commit to Carson Wentz remaining in Indianapolis

NFL: JAN 09 Colts at Jaguars
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The Colts don’t have a first-round pick this year because they traded it to the Eagles for Carson Wentz. But they may be ready to cut their losses.

Colts General Manager Chris Ballard said today that while he thought he was making the right move when he acquired Wentz, he can’t commit to Wentz remaining in Indianapolis.

“At the time, we felt it was the right decision,” Ballard said. “I’m not going to make a comment on who is going to be here next year and who is not.”

Ballard’s comments echo those of Colts head coach Frank Reich, who also declined to give Wentz a vote of confidence for 2022.

Wentz is currently slated to have a cap number of $28.3 million for the 2022 season, but the Colts could save $13.3 million in cap space by cutting him, in which case he would have only a dead cap number of $15 million. The Colts may also explore trading Wentz, although it remains to be seen whether any team would be willing to take him on at this point. A year after the Eagles decided to move on from Wentz, Ballard sounded like the Colts are ready to do so as well.

54 responses to “Chris Ballard won’t commit to Carson Wentz remaining in Indianapolis

  1. I seriously now doubt if Wentz could have pulled off that SB for the Eagles if he was healthy instead of Files. Looks like Wentz woulda Wentzed

  2. He has had one bad year since his rookie year: 16td/14int, 33td/7int, 21td/7int, 27td/7int, 16td/15int, 27td/7int. He was 10th in passing TD and had the second best td-int ratio behind Aaron Rodgers. He had one healthy starting WR all year. The final game people blame him for the loss but their 1800 yard RB Jonathan Taylor was shut down (15 carries/77 yards/0td), defense gave up 26 points and Reich’s playcalling was awful. Wentz played bad that game no dobut but the entire team did.

  3. Wentz has been a bust for a #2 overall draft pick. But I think the Colts are stuck with him unless they manage to lure Luck out of retirement.

  4. When Wentz hears this news he is going to have a melt down and behave like a toddler. It’s going to get ugly in Indianapolis.
    Wentz is not a leader.

  5. It sure looks like Wentz is about to enter the journeyman backup/bridge starter phase of his career.

  6. As has been noted elsewhere it only makes sense to move on from Wentz if they find an upgrade somewhere else.

    Nick Foles is available and I’d like to see the Colts sign him to a one year deal. He doesn’t have the physical talent of Wentz but he can be an effective game manager if not asked to carry the team and most importantly does not curl up into a little ball in important games.

    As a bonus, if Foles is on the team, Wentz may be willing to forfeit any remaining money he’s owed just to get out of there. I’m sure walking past a statue of SB MVP Foles every day in Philly was one of the reasons he wanted out.

  7. I could have told the Colts that Carson Yutz isn’t worth spit. I’ve noticed he lacks intelligence and common sense for years. He was lucky for a year. He can’t learn to slide and is slow on processing the field. He was highly overrated coming out of college. The Philthy team was taken and now the Colts were fleeced as well. Yutz might make an average backup if you have no other choice.

  8. Lentz’s one great year was against a last place schedule. People always leave that out.

    Foles to Indy would be great on so many levels.

  9. Idiot cost his team by refusing to get Vaccinated, he was playing sluggish, his ignorance has cost his teammates.

  10. Jason Harshman says:
    January 13, 2022 at 12:41 pm
    He has had one bad year since his rookie year: 16td/14int, 33td/7int, 21td/7int, 27td/7int, 16td/15int, 27td/7int. He was 10th in passing TD and had the second best td-int ratio behind Aaron Rodgers. He had one healthy starting WR all year. The final game people blame him for the loss but their 1800 yard RB Jonathan Taylor was shut down (15 carries/77 yards/0td), defense gave up 26 points and Reich’s playcalling was awful. Wentz played bad that game no dobut but the entire team did.
    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    It really is funny that all you look at is TDs vs INTs. Never mind the Wentz fumble that led to a FG by the Jags, or his interception, which resulted in the Jags scoring a TD. Need I also mention him being sacked 6 times? 15 carries for 77 yards is shut down? Imagine if Taylor had 25-30 carries had Wentz not ended the offense being on the field through his turnovers.

  11. I guess Indy didn’t pay attention to Wentz’s meltdown in Philly and now they’ll have to deal with it again. Why would you say that in the media when you have no viable backup plan in the works??? Cue Carsen losing it in 3, 2, 1…

  12. Remember when all those Eagles fans were so confident in Wentz being the undoubted starter in Philly? Direct quotes I received from Eagles fans, “Foles knows his role. This is Carson’s team and Nick is happy to ride the pine.” “Just you wait until we get Carson back. We just won the Super Bowl with a backup. We won’t be stopped once Wentz is healed up.” “He may be St. Nick, but Carson is our god and savior.” “I see us being a dynasty with Wentz at the helm and it’s not even a question as to why.” “Carson is going to lead in wins against Dak Prescott.” “Nobody is taking the NFC East from us for the next 10 years.”

  13. Jason Harshman says:
    January 13, 2022 at 12:41 pm
    “but their 1800 yard RB Jonathan Taylor was shut down (15 carries/77 yards/0td)”

    How is 5 yards/carry “shutdown”? It’s near his season average which was a league high (tied with Nick Chubb) at 5.5 yards/carry by anyone with >150 attempts. Seems like play calling was the bigger deal.

  14. Wentz can be summed up by that horrific pick 6 he threw out of his own end zone earlier in the year. No good QB throws that ball and certainly not somebody who’s been a starter in the NFL for 5 years. Yes, he also makes some good plays but you’re always bracing yourself for the next meltdown play that’ll doom you.

  15. claudesq says:
    January 13, 2022 at 12:44 pm
    When Wentz hears this news he is going to have a melt down and behave like a toddler. It’s going to get ugly in Indianapolis.
    Wentz is not a leader.

    ———
    Just wait until the Colts sign Nick Foles!

  16. I’d still rather have Carson Wentz as my starting QB over say… a Scam Newton. He’ll give you much better success in the TD:INT ratio and a passer’s chance at winning.

  17. Whoever mentioned Andrew Luck coming back…I don’t think that will ever happen. He says he is loving life away from football, and he looks to weigh around 170 lbs, soaking wet. The Colts should be done with Wentz, he’ll have to sweat out the entire off season before he finds out. He gave the Colts zero ROI, considering what they gave up for him.

  18. Let’s see, he melted down last year in Philly because he didn’t feel supported and then forced a trade. Now it’s being made public by his coach and GM that he may not be the guy and some buyers remorse is creeping in. Wentz is the common denominator in both cases and clearly feels he is wayyyy better at his job than everyone else. Fact is he is too soft to be a good NFLL QB, and by that I mean he is not mentally tough enough for the job. Pretty sure we know how this will end.

  19. Trading for Wentz was a catastrophically bad move that sets the Colts back significantly for the next few years. They missed on their franchise guy and traded away their draft capital. Poor talent evaluation and Reich, of all people, should have known how Wentz is as a teammate. Indy needs to cut their losses and reboot for 2023.

  20. At this point even a journeyman QB might be better. Their running game can win most games. All they need is a QB who doesn’t collapse when he has to throw. If they cut him, don’t expect anyone to claim him or the remaining ~$96M of his contract. Wentz is going to end up just like Blake Bortles. From starter to zero.

  21. This is more than Wentz laying an egg in J’Ville – he most likely is continuing his Me First ways in Indy instead of behaving like a leader.

  22. Could have had Foles, should have had Foles, still can get Foles. Foles is good enough for that division in the regular season, and more than good enough in the playoffs.

    Their roster seems too ready-now for them to blow it up and start over, and they don’t have enough draft capital to get an instant starter that way. So they need a win-now QB to build around, because they are close.

    Who would be better than Foles and actually available? I don’t see Wilson or Rodgers going to Indy. Watson is toxic and always came up small in big games anyway. Cousins is overpriced and under-delivers. If Atlanta is ready to move on from Matt Ryan, I could see him having very Tannehill-like success in Indy. Otherwise, I see no one else available who would offer more upside than Foles.

  23. I’m reading a lot of comments where people point to Wentz’s decent stats. He actually had better stats in 2018 than he had during his MVP caliber run in 2017. But the stats don’t tell the whole story with this guy. All you need to do is watch him. Something happened to him after 2017. Maybe he never got over the Eagles winning the Super Bowl without him. I don’t know. But whatever the reasons, he hasn’t been the same player since. I’ve never seen a quarterback take so many unnecessary sacks and make so many bone-headed decisions. The physical ability is still there, but it’s not enough to overcome his stubbornness. If neither Doug Pederson nor Frank Reich could fix him, I don’t think anyone can.

  24. eagleswin says:
    Nick Foles is available
    —————-

    While I’m sure the Bears would love to trade Foles, he’s under contract in Chicago still next season. (as of now)

  25. Too bad Chicago fired Ryan Pace, he probably would have found at least a 2nd round pick (if he still had any he hadn’t already traded away for marginal players).

  26. Wentz us average. If you want to be average he’s your man. Calling JTs number on the second 4th and one when it failed the first time was a bad play call. Their DL beat Colts OL all day

  27. raven245680 says:
    January 13, 2022 at 1:43 pm
    Remember when all those Eagles fans were so confident in Wentz being the undoubted starter in Philly? Direct quotes I received from Eagles fans, “Foles knows his role. This is Carson’s team and Nick is happy to ride the pine.” “Just you wait until we get Carson back. We just won the Super Bowl with a backup. We won’t be stopped once Wentz is healed up.” “He may be St. Nick, but Carson is our god and savior.” “I see us being a dynasty with Wentz at the helm and it’s not even a question as to why.” “Carson is going to lead in wins against Dak Prescott.” “Nobody is taking the NFC East from us for the next 10 years.”

    —————————————————————————-

    I’ll eat crow on that one! I thought “Wow, we won the Super Bowl without Carson Wentz, Jason Peters & Darren Sproles! Just wait until we get those guys back!” We’ll be even better!
    Well…Jason Peters & Darren Sproles never got healthy again. Several of the key back-up players left for big money. Good assistant coaches got hired away. And last but not least, Carson Wentz was never Carson Wentz again! Now I know why teams (not quarterbacked by Tom Brady) don’t win multiple Super Bowls!

  28. I reckon the Colts will have to ride with Wentz for next year, then cut bait. I don’t see anyone suitable available. And hands off St Nick!

  29. Tell me you’re trying to trade Wentz without telling me you’re trying to trade Wentz.

  30. It ultimately comes down to whether you win in big games. Wentz doesn’t do that. Neither does Cousins. That’s why they both receive criticism. The stats are meaningless. Even Blake Bortles put up good stats in garbage time.

  31. Ballard is very good at his job of seeing talent and acquiring it. I’d imagine it didn’t take the last game for him to come to the decision this is not working AND is unsustainable. Smart decision here.

  32. Why would you commit when Wilson, Rodgers, Watson, and Matt Ryan may be available? If Indy thinks they are that close than any of those qb’s would be up grades. No reason to close the door on a qb upgrade.

  33. “At the time, we felt it was the right decision,” OOOOOOFFFFFFFF that’s not a vote of confidence. Carson I would sell your house now because you re gone

  34. eagleswin says:
    January 13, 2022 at 12:56 pm

    Nick Foles is available and I’d like to see the Colts sign him to a one year deal.

    Foles has proven that as a back-up/emergency starter for a limited number of games, he’s your guy. He is not full season starter material. Eagles learned that during his first stint. So have the Rams, Jags, and Bears.

  35. Please stop with the Nick Foles comments. He’s a back up QB. Bring him in as the starter and he will fail miserably.

  36. Alongside Wentz,, sign Dalton & Trubisky to 1 year deals and let the trio play rock paper scissors each week to see who gets the go.

  37. Not surprised about Wentz in Indy. As an objective Eagle fan, it was very troubling that Wentz (team had other issues too) had a historically horrible regression in 2020. But what was really bothersome was his lack of accountability. If Wentz had said, “I stunk, will work to get better and am getting my job back”, he would have earned respect. However, he showed NO ACCOUNTABILITY, whined about being benched & demanded a trade.

  38. 👏👏👏 Hat Tip to Coltsfan 166
    coltzfan166 says:
    January 13, 2022 at 1:19 pm
    Jimmy G will be our starting QB in 2022. You saw it here first!

    THIS WOULD BE A GREAT FIT if Ballard can get him and the money works out.
    Although they don’t pick until #42 in the Second round this is a fairly deep WR class
    and he must get a quality Starter with that pick. Good luck to them.

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