Bleacher Report Grades the Colts' Carson Wentz Trade

Grading the Carson Wentz trade, what does Bleacher Report give the Colts?

The Indianapolis Colts pulled off a big trade with the Washington Commanders for Carson Wentz. Arguably the most impressive part of the trade was clearing all of Wentz's $28 million salary cap hit in the trade.

The Colts also swapped second-round picks with the Commanders, added a third-round pick this year and next year. The 2023 third-round pick can become a second-round pick if Wentz plays at least 70% of the Commanders' offensive snaps in 2022. 

Bleacher Report (B/R) graded the Wentz deal along with a multitude of other big NFL moves this week and gave the Colts a 'B' for their dealings with the Commanders.

B/R knocks the Colts for not having a clear-cut successor to Wentz, but there's time to raise the grade if the Colts find their quarterback in the still-young offseason.

Following an agreement to trade Wentz, Indianapolis doesn't have a clear-cut starter on the roster with Sam Ehlinger and James Morgan. Neither has thrown a pass in the regular season.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Colts could be "in the mix" for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Garoppolo would serve as a bridge-gap option, but his contract also carries an expensive cap charge (about $27 million). He doesn't have a history of locker-room issues though. As alternative options, the Colts can also pursue Mitchell Trubisky or Mariota Mariota in free agency. 

Regardless, they're probably better off without a highly questionable leader under center in Wentz. For a player with his reported issues on a big contract, Indianapolis came out of this with two Day 2 picks and a better draft slot in the second round of this year's draft, which is a solid win. - B/R 

While the Colts got a 'B', B/R clearly feels they got the better of the deal as Washington received a 'C' in the trade. 

The Colts need to find some stability at quarterback, something they tried to address by sending a first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Wentz. 

Colts' Week 1 starting QB by year:
2016: Andrew Luck
2017: Scott Tolzien
2018: Andrew Luck
2019: Jacoby Brissett
2020: Philip Rivers
2021: Carson Wentz
2022: TBD

For the 6th straight season, Indy won't have the same starting QB in Week 1 as it did the year before.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 9, 2022

The Colts currently sit at No. 42 with their first pick in the draft which could net them the likes of UNC's Sam Howell or maybe Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder. They could also package their picks from Washington to move back to the first round.

Indianapolis suddenly finds themselves with five of the top 158 picks in the draft and the most salary cap space in the NFL.

Depending on how general manager Chris Ballard moves from here, that 'B' could turn into an 'A' very quickly.