Carson Wentz is desperately seeking a fresh start following his trade from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Indianapolis Colts, but it's off to a bit of a bumpy start in training camp. After participating in just two practices, Wentz was held out of the team's third practice on Friday with a foot injury, the team announced.
According to a report from NFL Network, Wentz will visit foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in the near future. It's only at that point that a timetable for his return will be formulated. NFL Media's Mike Garafolo noted that "for now, the team is taking solace in Week 1 still being six weeks away," which does not exactly sound encouraging. His colleague, Ian Rapoport, noted that surgery is a possibility for Wentz.
Even if it's a minor ailment for Wentz, which is to-be-determined, it fuels the dark cloud of injury that has attached itself to what began as a promising NFL career. The team is evaluating "what the next move is and how bad it is" at the moment, according to offensive coordinator Marcus Brady, via Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star. Brady says Wentz felt a "twinge" in his foot after rolling out on a practice rep.
And without Wentz at QB1 -- should that remain the case in Week 1 and beyond -- the Colts will see their odds of taking the AFC South diminish. With Wentz under center, the Colts are projected to have a solid 49.7% chance of winning the division but that drops mightily to just 35.8% if Jacob Eason is the starter in 2021, per CBS Sports stats analyst Stephen Oh.
Additionally, Oh projects the odds of the Colts making the playoffs altogether falling nearly 16% -- from 73.8 to 57.9 -- putting them in murky waters going forward.
Eason doesn't have the experience many view as needed to carry the franchise, and while he might surprise if Wentz is sidelined for the foreseeable future, there's also a chance he might not; and rookie quarterback Sam Ehlinger will also need to be rapidly brought up to speed as a potential QB2.
A former second-overall pick of the Eagles, Wentz was enjoying an MVP-caliber season in 2017 before going down with a torn ACL just ahead of the playoffs -- backup Nick Foles stepping in to finish the job en route to leading the team to its first-ever Lombardi trophy and being named Super Bowl MVP in the process. In 2018, he missed the first two games with a knee injury and was eventually shut down with a back injury but, despite his durability issues, the Eagles exercised his fifth-year option before awarding him a four-year, $128 million contract with $107 million guaranteed less than two months later.
They'd go on to make the playoffs in 2019, but Wentz played just nine snaps in the NFC wld card against the Seattle Seahawks before leaving with a concussion after only one completion. The Eagles went on to lose that contest and Wentz would see his career arc in Philly take a nosedive thereafter -- having been benched in 2020 for rookie second-rounder Jalen Hurts -- before ultimately being shipped to the Colts in an era change that also saw head coach Doug Pedersen get the ax.
Now reunited with Frank Reich, former offensive coordinator for the Eagles turned head coach in Indy, there's a lot on the line for Wentz heading into 2021. The last thing he needs is another injury, but that's exactly what's on his plate at the moment. Until he returns, it'll be second-year talent Jacob Eason taking first team reps, and hoping to impress in the process.
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