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Pressure Mounts on Eason with NFL Debut Near, Rookie Pushing Him

The former UW quarterback basically has two weeks to determine his immediate NFL future.
Dan Raley|
Pressure Mounts on Eason with NFL Debut Near, Rookie Pushing Him
Pressure Mounts on Eason with NFL Debut Near, Rookie Pushing Him

With his NFL preseason debut looming, Jacob Eason continues to hang in there at quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, but it has been far from a comfortable arrangement for the hard-throwing one.

He'll open as the starter Sunday against Carolina Panthers.

As a replacement for the injured Carson Wentz, Eason has gone from the No. 1 quarterback to sharing snaps with rookie Sam Ehlinger from Texas at preseason camp in Westfield, Indiana.

The former University of Washington offensive leader is under tremendous pressure to perform at a very high level in a very short window of time. The stakes are high for him over the next two weeks. He could become the emergency starter or not make the Colts' roster at all.

Eason gets heavily critiqued each day, not only by his coaches but by media practice observers who don't hold back.

Consider this biting headline from the Indianapolis Star:

"Jacob Eason looks and throws like a quarterback, but Sam Ehlinger thinks like one"

Eason continues to hear how Wentz could come off foot surgery and still start the season opener at home against the Seattle Seahawks, his home state team, on September 12.

He is surrounded by speculation that the Colts might bring Philip Rivers, last year's starter, out of retirement or deal for a former Oregon Duck, Marcus Mariota of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Everybody's trying to make the best out of an often uncomfortable situation. 

Consider this vote of confidence from Colts coach Frank Reich regarding Eason and Ehlinger. 

"I was proud of the way both guys responded today, particularly Jacob, right, because he gets the news that hey, all of a sudden you're going to split the reps and he comes out and has a good day," Reich said. "That's a good sign for Jacob."

Consider this synopsis from a writer for 1075thefan: 

"It was a shaky start to Saturday’s practice for Jacob Eason. He finished better though, completing 8-of-15 passes in team work. Eason was picked off twice on Saturday, despite the Colts being down 4 of their top 5 cornerbacks. One was a catchable ball to Jonathan Taylor, but Eason did lead the running back into some traffic, which caused a deflected ball that E.J. Speed came down with. Ball placement has been an issue with Eason."

Reich said he will determine his starter, depending on Wentz's recovery, after two preseason games. 

So it's a small make-or-break window for Eason to prove himself worthy of running the Colts offense for real.

Or simply beat out Ehlinger for the backup job. 

Reich doesn't feel he's sending a negative message to Eason by making him share snaps with the first-year player. 

"Sam's really been good, he's been solid every day," Reich said. "And so it's fair, it's right. By switching those, I don't feel like we're losing that much with Jacob getting reps with the two's. It's more about giving Sam an opportunity."

To Eason's credit, he keeps bouncing back.

Consider this practice report from Jake Arthur of the Horseshoe Huddle:

"Tuesday, he was very inconsistent and struggled putting the correct velocity and touch on many of his passes. Things were smoother and less clunky on Wednesday. He wasn't faltering under constant duress, and he accepted his check-downs. ... It's encouraging to see him take some steps forward after what seemed to be a few days of poor play."

The big right arm. The cannon. The howitzer. 

Eason's greatest strength still tantalizes those watching his every move for the Indianapolis franchise.

Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports once had Eason as a second-round draft pick, rather than in the fourth where he ultimately landed for the Colts. He noted how the guy crumbled under pressure at the UW.  Yet he can look past that arm. 

"Eason has the raw talent, a year in the Colts' system under his belt, and the offensive personnel around him -- particularly up front -- to be a pleasant surprise as Wentz's stand-in this season."

Same as at the UW, Eason has his detractors and supporters. He has two weeks to make strides or have to start all over as a pro quarterback candidate. 

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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.

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