Frank Reich: Colts Excited About What Carson Wentz Can Do for Them
After a month of having to play coy, Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich can now talk about his new starting quarterback.
On Wednesday, the new NFL year began and the Colts could officially announce their trade for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz.
With the freedom to openly speak about it, Reich joined Alex Marvez and former Colts general manager Bill Polian on SiriusXM NFL Radio to discuss the trade for Wentz.
When asked about his thoughts on the trade, Reich had the following to say:
We're very excited about Carson. Obviously, I know him well. (I) think very highly of him as a player, as a teammate, you know, as a leader (and) what he can do for this team. We do have a philosophy around here, like a lot of teams, (that) the quarterback position is very important, but he's one player on the team, but we think he can make a big impact.
You know, he's highly intelligent. He's big, strong, (and) can make all the throws on the field that you need to make to be a big-time NFL quarterback. But we need to play within ourselves. We need to play our style of football. We need to grow each week. We just have a mantra around here, 'Just keep getting better.'
We're not gonna focus on having any crazy thoughts or goals or timetables on this or that. We're just gonna fight to get better every day.
In 2020, Reich was reunited with a former quarterback in Philip Rivers, who signed with the Colts after Reich was his quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers (then San Diego) between 2013-15.
Likewise, Reich is now reunited with Wentz in 2021 after being his offensive coordinator with the Eagles from 2016-17.
Reich was asked about how that experience with Rivers in 2020 can relate to Wentz in 2021.
Well, there's no doubt it'll help. Like you said, Alex, I had a very close relationship with Philip, and I think that really helped. Just personally, just a belief just in the person, and the friendship — a genuine man-to-man friendship — and camaraderie, and the respect of fighting to get better all the time, and a respect for who he was as a player.
Philip knew that and believed that, and I think the same will be true of Carson. It starts with a mutual respect and who he is as a person and who he is as a player, and I'm just excited to work with him again. I think very highly of him.
Obviously, it was a rough year, it was a rough year there in Philly. This league is complicated, right? It's tough, it's the NFL. Sometimes, things happen and it's best to get a clean, fresh start. I'm happy that we were able to come away with a win-win deal. I think a trade between us and the Eagles that in many respects was very fair, and we're excited about it. We're excited about the fresh start with Carson and what he can bring to this team.
Since rumors about the Eagles potentially trading Wentz began this offseason, a common thought around the NFL was that a move to the Colts to be reunited with Reich made the most sense for Wentz to turn his career around.
Now, we wait and see.
