Colts' Trade for Carson Wentz Considered Best Move of NFL Offseason
The Indianapolis Colts had a relatively quiet free-agent period, but the biggest move they made came a month prior.
In exchange for quarterback Carson Wentz, the Colts sent the Philadelphia Eagles a 2021 third-round draft pick and a conditional second-round 2022 draft pick.
The move was met with mixed emotions on a large scale nationally. On one hand, the best football that Wentz ever played was with Colts head coach Frank Reich when the two were both with the Eagles from 2016-17.
On the other hand, Wentz is coming off of the worst season of his career in 2020 where he got benched late in the season.
Bleacher Report is among those seeing the rosier side of things, calling the trade the best move of the NFL offseason.
...Wentz has his faults, though. At times, he holds on to the ball for a big play downfield, which increases the probability of a sack or ill-advised throw. He must learn to get the ball out quickly to his intermediate targets.
Nevertheless, Wentz landed in an ideal spot. Although Colts left tackle Anthony Castonzo retired, the unit will return the rest of its starters. General manager Chris Ballard could address the void on the perimeter with a high draft pick.
Wentz reunites with his former offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, who's the head coach and play-caller in Indianapolis. If anyone can help the Pro Bowl quarterback adjust his decision-making, it's someone who's had prior success with him.
While working with Reich, Wentz finished the 2017 season with the league's highest QBR (78.5), throwing 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Wentz can trust his top option in the short passing game. Running back Nyheim Hines has hauled in 170 passes for 1,227 yards and six touchdowns through three seasons.
If Wentz bounces back, the Colts have their long-term solution at quarterback, which isn't the case for the Los Angeles Rams and 33-year-old Matthew Stafford.
Secondly, the Colts acquired a younger signal-caller who's in his prime and only cost them a third-round pick and a conditional second-rounder that would become a first if Wentz plays 75 percent of the snaps or 70 percent with a playoff berth, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
Based on what the Colts gave up in the trade for Wentz and the potential long-term impact of the deal, they've made the best move this offseason thus far.
So, was the Colts' trade for Wentz the NFL's best of the offseason? It certainly has the potential to be.
If the Colts hit on the trade, they may just have their quarterback for the foreseeable future. It likely also means that they've done well as a team and have made some noise in the playoffs.
The ingredients are there for success. The Colts have one of the NFL's most reputable offensive lines of the last few years, although they need to make sure they're all set at left tackle.
They also have a run game led by the NFL's reigning third-leading rusher in Jonathan Taylor as well as a backup in Marlon Mack who ran for over 1,000 yards in 2019.
While the Colts are likely to keep addressing the group, they have quality players in the passing game in T.Y. Hilton, Michael Pittman Jr., Parris Campbell, Zach Pascal, Jack Doyle, and Mo Alie-Cox.
However, if the move bombs for the Colts, they've likely lost control of the season.
Wentz could very well be too far gone after such a disappointing 2020 season. The Colts could also have injury issues around Wentz that hamper how effective he can be similar to some of his time in Philadelphia.
Regardless, whether or not the Colts wind up having success with the trade, they made a big swing and took a necessary risk.
Considering they didn't have to give up a ton of draft capital to acquire Wentz, and the upside is that he could be a quality quarterback for them for the next several years, this appears to have been the right move to make.
How do you feel about the Colts' trade for Wentz? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!
