Colts Coach Says He Knew He Wanted Star QB on Roster Prior to End of 2020 Season
When Carson Wentz went on the trade block following the 2020 season that ended with his benching in Week 12 against the Green Bay Packers, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Wentz would wind up in Indianapolis with the Colts and Head Coach Frank Reich.
Appearing in the Colts' With the Next Pick docuseries tracking the Colts behind the scenes leading up to their first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Reich stated that he wanted the disgruntled Eagles' signal caller in Indianapolis prior to the end of the 2020 season.
"Honestly I thought towards the end of the year -- when things started going south there in Philadelphia -- I thought 'ah that'd probably never happen,'" Reich said. "We were open toward the possibility of talking about it (about a month prior to the trade). What's the right way to go about this? How deep is our conviction about him as our quarterback?
"It was an up-and-down process, but I think we got to a spot where both teams got comfortable (on the trade)."
It's a curious statement from Reich, considering there was no real talk of Philip Rivers retiring at that time, considering he was playing some great football in Reich's system, and that there was no real thought that Wentz and Philadelphia would go through a divorce, considering the dead money attached to Wentz's contract.
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We all know that ultimately the Colts sent a 2021 third rounder and a conditional 2022 second rounder to the Eagles to secure Wentz and reunite him with Reich, who was his offensive coordinator in Wentz's career year in 2017.
Aside from the on-the-field connection between Wentz and Reich, that relationship goes deeper than just football.
"I have the utmost respect for the man that he is, the friend that he's been to me as well," Wentz said. "He understands the game. He gets it from the mental side of things as a quarterback which ultimately allows me to trust him so much more. He was always the most encouraging person ... We just have this connection. We always talked about our values and different things, it's just natural.
"It's crazy circumstances that here we are working together again and I'm pretty fired up about it."
The opportunity to work with Reich again should help Wentz revive his career and bounce back from an awful 2020 season.
That's a huge development for the Colts' chances in 2021 and beyond.
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