Colts GM Chris Ballard Shares Where Things Stand With QB Carson Wentz
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A promising season for the Colts was derailed in the final two weeks, with losses to the Raiders and Jaguars costing the team a playoff spot. With the year now over for Indianapolis, speculation is abound regarding the future of quarterback Carson Wentz. Colts general manager Chris Ballard addressed the situation during a lengthy press conference Thursday.
Ballard defended trading the quarterback before the 2021 season, though he would not make any commitments for Wentz or any other Colts player for next season.
“After Philip [Rivers] retired, and we made the decision to make the move on Carson, at the time of the decision we felt good about it," Ballard said. "And I still don’t regret the decision at the time. I’m not gonna—just sitting here today, just so y’all know, I won’t make a comment on who’s gonna be here and who’s not gonna be here next year. That’s not fair to any player,” Ballard said.
“I thought Carson did some good things, and there’s a lot of things he needs to do better. Our passing game has to be better.”
Coach Frank Reich shared a similar sentiment when asked about Wentz's future this week, saying, "We loved the team we had this year, we knew everyone we brought in this year, we expected to play winning football. Next year's roster will be next year's roster. I don't want to open it up about one player and then start talking about all of them."
Ballard acknowledged that, in any ideal world, Wentz would turn the corner and be the team's next true franchise quarterback, something it has looked for since Andrew Luck's abrupt retirement ahead of the 2019 season. That may not wind up being working out though, he admits.
“I’d like to quit band-aiding it,” Ballard said regarding the quarterback position. “I’d like for Carson to be the long term answer, or find someone who’s going to be here for the next 10–12 years. But sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. I can dream about it and wish about it, and do everything I can to figure out the solution, but you do the best with what you can do at the time that you have to make a decision. That’s how you do it.”
Wentz threw for a career-low 209.6 yards per game in 2021, totaling for 3,563 total yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions on the season. His production took a dive midway through the year. In the last eight games, Wentz managed just 170.6 yards per game, topping 200 yards just twice during that stretch.
At 9–8, Indianapolis was eliminated from playoff contention with the Jaguars loss, as well as the Steelers' win over the Ravens in Week 18.
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