What’s next for the Indianapolis Colts at QB?

One of the bigger storylines around the NFL this offseason was the potential resurrection of Carson Wentz’s career with the Indianapolis Colts. After regressing — or full-on collapsing — in his final season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020 the QB was reunited with Frank Reich, the head coach of the Colts and his former offensive coordinator in Philadelphia during Wentz’s impressive 2017 season.

What that reunion looks like in the regular season is going to have to wait.

Late last week it was reported that Wentz suffered a foot injury that required further evaluation. On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that after taking the weekend, the team and the player have decided that the best course of action is surgery:

The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport had more on what lies ahead for Wentz:

With the timetable on the surgery and recovery anywhere from a quarter of the season to almost the entire 2021 campaign, the Colts are now left wondering how to proceed at the QB position. What are their options, keeping in mind this wide timeframe?

Forge ahead with Jacob Eason

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The Colts do have two younger quarterbacks on the roster, first of which is second-year passer Jacob Eason. Eason generated a bit of first-round buzz late in his draft process, thanks to his combination of size and arm talent, but ultimately fell to the Colts in the fourth round. Eason began his college career at the University of Georgia and after enrolling early in 2016, he secured the starting job after taking over for senior Greyson Lambert. He entered the 2017 entrenched as the team's QB1, but a knee injury in the season opener sidelined Eason, opening the door for Jake Fromm. Eason would ultimately transfer to Washington, and in his final college season he completed 64.2% of his passes for 3,132 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Here are a few breakdowns of Eason's game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNUuKt3LZNY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpV8EZmzqiU Eason has talent, and despite not playing a snap last season he is in the driver's season for the starting spot at the moment according to Reich: https://twitter.com/zkeefer/status/1422225942160855055 One option here is for the Colts to take more of a "wait and see" approach over the next few weeks. See how Eason handles the starting role while also tracking Wentz's recovery, and if the timetable looks more on the lower end of the spectrum, the Colts could decide to roll with the second-year QB. What might complicate that decision, however, is what the schedule gods laid in front of Indianapolis. Even if Wentz just misses the first five games, who do the Colts play those first five weeks? The Seahawks, the Rams, the Titans, the Dolphins and the Ravens. Four playoff teams from a season ago and a fifth team with high aspirations...

Ride rookie Sam Ehlinger?

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Eason is not the only young option the Colts have on the roster. Indianapolis did dip into the quarterback market this past draft cycle, adding senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger from the University of Texas. Ehlinger spent four seasons with the Longhorns, sharing the starting job with Shane Buechele as a true freshman with both QBs battling injuries. Ehlinger secured the starting job over Buechele for the 2017 season, and did not look back. Although the Longhorns never fully "made it back" as was promised, Ehlinger left campus with a few school records under his belt. Having falling to the sixth round in the past draft cycle, it is hard to imagine that Ehlinger will be the answer here for the Colts. While his strengths might mesh well with Reich's offense on paper, particularly Ehlinger's ability to work through progressions quickly on quick-game concepts, with Eason in place and Ehlinger's inexperience this seems like a long-shot.

An option in free agency?

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Over the weekend the Colts did make a move at the position, signing free agent quarterback Brett Hundley who has spent time with the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals. Hundley, as a known commodity, is probably viewed as the team as more of a "camp arm" than an option to take over as the starting quarterback given the presence of Eason on the roster, and other avenues the team could pursue. But there are a few other free agents worth mentioning, such as Blake Bortles, who was recently cut by the Packers, Matt Barkley, who was most recently with the Buffalo Bills, or even Robert Griffin III, who was last with the Baltimore Ravens.

Swinging another trade

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Would the Colts swing another trade? When the Wentz news first broke, there were rumblings among a few different fan bases about the potential of acquiring a draft pick in exchange for one of the Colts' upcoming picks in the 2022 NFL draft. The Buffalo Bills seemed like the first fan base to make such noise, wondering if the Colts would be interested in Mitchell Trubisky. Another name to at least mention is Jimmy Garoppolo if, given how the QB battle with Trey Lance seems to be shaping up, Garoppolo finds himself as a likely backup at the start of the season. Financial implications likely make that impossible, given his current contract and the cap position the Colts find themselves in, so maybe another 49ers, such as Josh Rosen is a better idea for the Colts. Then there is, of course, another potential trade target. Nick Foles. With the Chicago Bears drafting Justin Fields and signing Andy Dalton, those two players are battling it out for the QB1 spot in the Windy City. One of those players is going to win the job, with the other likely serving as the backup. That leaves Foles probably on the outside looking in. But given his experience with Reich -- these two did win a Super Bowl together after all, while an injured Wentz watched from the sidelines -- is yet another reunion in the works? Could the Colts look to Foles to again step into a huddle, replacing an injured Wentz? And what would that do for Wentz, again seeing #9 take his place in the huddle?

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