Commanders QB Carson Wentz Placed on IR: 'Revenge Tour' Canceled
As Carson Wentz' career teeters, his "revenge tour" is officially canceled.
The Washington Commanders' quarterback was placed on injured reserve Saturday morning, meaning he will miss at least the next four games. On Washington's schedule in that span are trips to Wentz' two former teams: the Indianapolis Colts (Oct. 30) and Philadelphia Eagles (Nov. 14).
Wentz suffered a fractured ring finger on his right, throwing hand in the Commanders' last game, a 12-7 victory over the Chicago Bears. With an original prognosis of missing 4-6 weeks, he underwent surgery this week.
Wentz' career has nosedived since his promising start in Philadelphia. Drafted 2nd overall in 2016, he was in the 2017 NFL MVP discussion while leading the Eagles to an 11-2 start. But he suffered a torn ACL and was replaced by Nick Foles, who led them to a victory in Super Bowl LII.
Wentz was traded to the Colts in 2021, but produced woeful performances as Indianapolis lost its last two games and missed the playoffs. The Commanders acquired him in a trade last March, but through six games his performance was underwhelming. Wentz has thrown 10 touchdowns and six interceptions while being sacked a league-high 23 times.
Since his injury in Philly he is 28-33 as a starting quarterback.
In Wentz' absence, the Commanders will return to veteran backup Taylor Heinicke.
Washington hopes he can have similar success as NFL backups Cooper Rush (4-1 for the Dallas Cowboys in place of Dak Prescott) and Bailey Zappe (2-0 replacing Mac Jones for the New England Patriots). Though some Commanders fans urged coach Ron Rivera to give a look to rookie Sam Howell, he was deemed to be "still learning" and not ready to start an NFL game.
Heinicke will start Sunday's home game against the Green Bay Packers and, barring an injury, guide Washington against the Colts, Minnesota Vikings and Eagles before Wentz is eligible to come off IR in a month. Heinicke became a household name when he made his first start for Washington in the playoffs two years ago against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He turned heads when he completed 26 of 44 passes for 306 yards and a touchdown while also reaching the end zone on the ground in the 31-23 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions.
Despite that promising performance, Washington signed Ryan Fitzpatrick in the 2021 offseason to become the team’s starting quarterback. Heinicke wasn’t stuck on the bench for long as Fitzpatrick suffered a hip injury in the first quarter of the season opener last year against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Heinicke started 16 games with mixed results. He threw for 3,419 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions as Washington missed the postseason with a 7-10 record.
Follow Richie Whitt on Twitter
Get your Washington Commanders game tickets from SI Tickets HERE!
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Commanders? Click Here.
Follow Commander Country on Twitter.
