The Kansas City Chiefs are in need of a backup quarterback, and Vegas thinks a recently-cut veteran is the answer.
According to BetOnline, the Chiefs are the odds-on favorites (3/1) to land former Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz.
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The Commanders released Wentz on Monday, February 27, which helped save the team approximately $26 million in cap space. Washington will now move forward with second-year quarterback Sam Howell and Taylor Heinicke, who will battle for the Commanders’ starting quarterback job next summer.
Carson Wentz a Rollercoaster at QB
Carson Wentz, 30, was the second overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016. After a rocky rookie season in which he threw 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, Wentz’s sophomore campaign nearly earned him a league MVP award.
During the 2017 regular season, Wentz completed 60.2% of his passes for 33 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in 13 games played, according to Pro Football Reference. He only played in 13 games because he suffered a torn ACL on December 11 of that year, which put to rest any chance of him winning the MVP award with three games remaining in the regular season.
Over the next three seasons, Wentz’s play was wildly inconsistent, as he threw 64 touchdowns but turned the ball over a total of 46 times (29 interceptions, 17 fumbles). As a result, Wentz was traded in 2021 to the Indianapolis Colts, who had Frank Reich, Wentz’s offensive coordinator during his 2017 MVP campaign, as their head coach.
A change of scenery didn’t do much good for Wentz, who turned the ball over 14 times during the 2021 season and should have had more turnovers based on a number of dropped interceptions by various opposing defenders. That’s why, after just one season, Indy traded Wentz to the Commanders during the 2022 offseason.
Last season, Wentz had more turnovers (11) than games played (8) with the Commanders, which led to his release on Monday.
Should Chiefs Pursue Wentz as Backup QB?
As a player that will show flashes of excellence followed by some of the most frustrating play you’ll see from an NFL quarterback, Carson Wentz needs to sit behind a great quarterback in a quarterback-friendly system if he wants any chance of rejuvenating his roller coaster of a career. That’s why it’s possible the Chiefs could pursue Wentz as a backup option to Patrick Mahomes.
But it will ultimately come down to what Wentz wants. If he’s willing to swallow his ego and enter a season with no shot at winning the starting quarterback job, then he might take a cheap deal to join the defending Super Bowl champions and have a chance to get another ring (he already has one thanks to Nick Foles’ Super Bowl run during the 2017 season).
If Wentz joined Kansas City and Andy Reid’s coaching staff didn’t improve his play, then that might put an end to Went’z NFL career. But if Reid’s staff did improve Wentz’s play, then the Chiefs would have another reliable option behind Mahomes that could replace recently-retired Chad Henne.
There is one thing we do know, however: If there’s any coaching staff in the NFL that can potentially bring back the 2017 version of Carson Wentz, it’s Andy Reid’s.
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Chiefs Are Favorites to Land Ex-MVP Candidate as Patrick Mahomes’ Backup