Colts Didn't Need Eason After All, But His Week Didn't Go Well

The former Husky quarterback slipped well down the Indianapolis depth chart leading up to the game.
Colts Didn't Need Eason After All, But His Week Didn't Go Well
Colts Didn't Need Eason After All, But His Week Didn't Go Well /

The weekend turned out better than expected for the Indianapolis Colts, with quarterback Carson Wentz healthy enough to play against the Tennessee Titans after spraining both ankles the game before, but it appeared to be a huge setback for Jacob Eason's NFL career.

Prior to the 25-16 loss in Nashville, Wentz and Brett Hundley took all of the pregame snaps, relegating Eason to third quarterback status and seemingly indicating he's lost favor with the Colts in a hurry.

Once Wentz was injured against the Los Angeles Rams, Eason was summoned as his emergency replacement with 2:25 remaining and he immediately threw an interception.

This past week, the former University of Washington player continually struggled in practice against the Colts' pass rush and secondary, forcing the coaching staff to get impatient with him. The team elevated Hundley from the practice squad last Thursday and gave him first-team snaps thereafter until game day.

Jacob Eason warms up before Sunday's game against Tennessee.
Jacob Eason warms up before Sunday's game at Tennessee / USA TODAY Sports

Against the Titans, Eason was relegated to No. 3 quarterback and the holder on place-kicks for Indy's Rodrigo Blankenship, his one-time teammate in Georgia, as well as with the Colts.

As the 6-foot-6, 231-pound product of Lake Stevens, Washington, has learned, the NFL doesn't show much patience when it comes to player development. 

Eason might have gotten his chance as the Indy quarterback and been unable to make it happen. He might have difficulty retaining his roster spot, depending on what the Colts eventually do when injured rookie Sam Ehlinger returns.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.