It’s been a week since the Washington Commanders unceremoniously released quarterback Carson Wentz. They do it in a short and succinct tweet, less than a year after giving up a pair of draft picks for him. It didn’t end well there or in Wentz’s previous two stops.
The former face of the Philadelphia Eagles is a free agent running out of options. Wentz might be forced to take on a backup role in 2023 if (and that’s a big if) another franchise is willing to roll the dice on him. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the 30-year-old quarterback was spotted in downtown Indianapolis on March 4 enjoying dinner with his agents. They were plotting his next move. He wants to keep playing.
Last night in Indy, former #Commanders QB Carson Wentz was spotted (by my eyeballs) downtown having dinner with his agents. He’s determined to continue playing and is open to various roles that can help a team.
Various role? Help a team? Interesting. This is the same guy who refused to take part in a competition for the starting job in Philly back in 2021. Now Wentz is fighting for his career and all options are on the table in what could be his final opportunity. He went 2-5 as a starter for Washington in 2022, throwing for 1,755 yards with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He missed time due to a broken ring finger, then got benched for Taylor Heinicke.
NFL Insider Peter King Details His ‘Trail of Waste’
NBC Sports’ Peter King did a deep dive on the amount of money teams have wasted on Wentz in recent years. King totaled the quarterback’s career earnings to be $128.7 million, noting that Wentz’s career record stood at 46-46-1 with no playoff wins. He has seen only nine postseason snaps in a seven-year career while getting booed by the hometown fans in three different cities.
“The trail of waste left by the wake of Carson Wentz is astounding,” King wrote. “Even though Wentz was on his way to a great season before injuring his knee in 2017, he could never repeat it and in fact regressed. I’d argue that no player in NFL history has cost so much and delivered so little.”
Carson Wentz made these throws look so easy 🐐
The Eagles, Colts, and Commanders collectively surrendered nine picks, all in the top 100 of drafts, in trades involving Wentz. King tracked “what was lost” in terms of future talent and came up with some pretty significant names. He wrote the following:
But I figured out the overall pick for each of the nine draft slots traded for Wentz, and I figured out a player drafted in each slot, to see the players Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Washington bypassed to employ Wentz. They are:
DeForest Buckner, Joe Thuney, Matthew Judon, T.J. Watt, Fred Warner, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Zion Johnson, Dameon Pierce. (The ninth player will be known this year after the Colts make the 79th overall pick in the draft—the last vestige of the last Wentz trade, from Washington.)
Howie Roseman Shared His Thoughts at Super Bowl Week
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman played nice in the sandbox with Wentz during and after his trade request. He accommodated him. He thanked him. He moved on from him. But, amid the craziness of Super Bowl Week in Phoenix, it was finally time to throw shade at the quarterback who couldn’t handle the pressure in Philly. The guy who paved the way for Jalen Hurts.
“Look. You have to be really good to start in this league,” Roseman told The Inquirer’s Marcus Hayes on February 8. “If you’re worried [that] we’re bringing in depth and talent, you’re probably not the right guy at that position.”
We have released the following players:
— S Bobby McCain
— QB Carson Wentz
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NFL Insider Rips Ex-Eagles QB Carson Wentz After Dinner Meeting: ‘Trail of Waste’