Colts reportedly trade QB Carson Wentz to Commanders

Quarterback Carson Wentz is on the move again. Just one year after the Philadelphia Eagles traded Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts, the Colts are reportedly trading him to the Washington Commanders.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Commanders are sending two third-round draft picks to the Colts and taking on all of his remaining salary, which is quite a haul for a guy who made some of the most puzzling throwing decisions of the 2021 season.

Wentz's twisted, downward journey

Wentz, 29, has been on a steady downward trend over the past few years. Drafted by the Eagles in 2016 with the No. 2 overall pick, he was playing the best football of his life in 2017 when he tore his ACL in Week 14. His MVP dreams were dashed and backup Nick Foles came in and led the Eagles to the franchise's first Super Bowl victory — which Wentz had to watch from the sideline.

Wentz returned from his torn ACL in time for the 2018 season, but he wasn't quite the same, and was once again injured for the end of the season and the playoffs. He performed decently in 2019, but that was the last bit of harmony between Wentz and the Eagles (and the fans). The Eagles' relationship with Wentz went south quickly after they took quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 draft.

Wentz reportedly felt undermined by the Hurts pick, and that provided the backdrop for his horrid 2020 season. He threw a league-high 15 interceptions, more than double the previous year. There were reports of dissonance between Wentz and some of his teammates, and he reportedly didn't talk to head coach Doug Pederson for weeks on end. As the Eagles approached the end of their 4-11-1 season, Wentz was benched for Hurts.

Wentz was traded to Indy during the offseason for a handful of picks (one of which became a 2022 first-rounder). There he reunited with Frank Reich, the Colts head coach who had been the Eagles' offensive coordinator during Wentz's MVP-caliber season. The two had gotten along well when they worked together in 2017, and many thought that reuniting with Reich could bring back the old version of Wentz.

As we now know, that wasn't to be. Wentz was thoroughly mediocre for most of the Colts' season, held up by his teammates as he continued to make baffling decisions on the field. The real tire fire didn't come until the Colts' final game of the season, when all they needed to make the playoffs was a victory against the two-win Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead, Wentz and the Colts scored just 11 points, handing the Jags their third win as the Colts were eliminated from the playoffs.

That final game seemed to be the last straw for Wentz in Indianapolis. Neither Reich nor general manager Chris Ballard would commit to Wentz for the 2022 season, leading to Wednesday's trade.

Now Wentz is back in the NFC East again. Eagles fans are already salivating at the chance to heckle the quarterback who left the city and the team so gleefully.