Frank Reich: "I Stuck My Neck Out for Him Last Year"

Colts QB Carson Wentz was brought to Indy in large part because of the head coach, who still believes in his quarterback

INDIANAPOLIS – Nobody will admit that Carson Wentz is on borrowed time with the Colts, but when your head coach is still evaluating tape to help in the decision-making process, well, that can’t be good.

That’s what Frank Reich is doing. Still doing. Looking at Wentz’s 2021 season, one in which was typical Wentz – up and down.

“I think there's a lot of things in the evaluation process, right?” said Reich at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday afternoon. “You know, how we played, how every dynamic right is complicated, or I should say it's complex. Nobody is an island unto himself. It's the whole picture.

“So, I'm actually, I just went back again, two days ago, and watched a bunch of film again on him and other players, not just him. And, you know, every time you go back, you see new things, you know, good and bad and indifferent.”

Wentz was good. He was also bad.

For the Eagles, he was good.

He helped them get a No. 1 seed in the 2017 playoffs, a road that led to a Super Bowl championship even though he sat out the final month-plus with a wrecked knee.

He also helped the Eagles land a first-round pick from the Colts in last year’s trade. OK, that’s on GM Howie Roseman for forging such a deal, but Wentz did his part with his poor play in 2020 then making it known privately he wanted out.

He got his wish, and now he may become a journeyman, seemingly about to play for his third team in the last three years.

“I stuck my neck out for him, you know, I stuck my neck out for him last year,” said Reich. “I was a big part of that decision to get him here. And so, you know, I believe he's gonna continue to have a lot of success as a quarterback. That might be here. It might not be here. That decision has yet to be determined.

“So, I still believe in the person, I still believe in the player. I mean, we're all in progress. You know, I'm in progress. He's in progress. Every one of our players is in progress.

"You just don't want to get into that trap of taking a snapshot of any one week or one year. It's a bigger story than that. So, the storyline is much bigger than one season. We’ve always had that perspective, and we’ll always have that.”

Carson Wentz / USA Today

Wentz completed 62.4 percent of his throws as a Colt, with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

There was the question of leadership, however, with his refusal to get vaccinated. He tested positive for COVID-19 over the final couple weeks of the season, and even though he did not have to miss any games after the CDC bailed him out by changing their guidelines shortly after his positive test, he had to miss practices.

The Colts needed to win one of their last two games to make the playoffs. They lost them both.

That’s not all on Wentz, of course, but he’s the quarterback.

“I thought this year, compared to 2020, we got back on track, protecting the ball well, made some good plays,” said Reich. “Again, on the positive side, we emphasized the touchdown-interception ratio was where we wanted it to be. It was a good step from 2020. We’ll continue to evaluate the process. That’s ongoing.

“We know in this business, everybody and everything gets evaluated every year. The second thing we know about that process is that head coach and quarterback are under the most scrutiny. We’re in the middle of that process. We also know this: A lot of good.

“We’re a team that missed the playoffs last year, we’ve kind of already been through all of that. The disappointment and hurt of that, but also the resolve to get better. We know we did a lot of good. Carson did a lot of good. 

"Our team, individual and collectively, did some good things, that we need to build off. And just continue to find those little ways that we can get better.”

Reich said no decision has yet to be made on whether or not Wentz will return, be traded, or simply released.

The answer will likely come prior to March 18 when his full $22 million contract for 2022 becomes guaranteed. Already, $15M of it has been guaranteed, but the Colts could save $13.2M of salary cap space by unloading him in whatever way they can at some point before June 1.

“I think Carson has matured over the years,” said Reich. “I've talked with him several times, talked with him (Tuesday)…Our conversation has been, without getting into total details, is he knows what's going on. He knows the evaluation process that’s not just him, but everybody. And so really, what's been said is, ‘Hey, here's what we do. We think positively. You can only assume the best, believe the best, think the best, act the best.' 

"And in this business until we're told differently, you know, that's just the way you approach it. You believe in yourself. You believe in the process. You believe in your team. You believe in your teammates, and you keep moving forward until you’re given notice otherwise."

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.