Carson Wentz injury a concern for Indianapolis Colts backers
The gamble Indianapolis took in trading for Carson Wentz this offseason has already hit a potentially significant bump in the road.
File this under ‘that escalated fast’, but Indianapolis QB Carson Wentz will now have surgery on his injured foot and is set to be out of action for between 5 and 12 weeks.
The news comes just a day after the team said Wentz would merely rest the foot in the hope of being ready for Indy’s season opener vs Seattle on September 12.
Wentz rehab time frame
While that 5-12 week rehab time frame seems pretty sketchy, Colts head coach Frank Reich said it is real, the team just doesn’t know how long it will take. That could either see Wentz back early in the regular season, or not back until mid-season. Extremely concerning.
The surgery will remove a broken bone which has come loose in Wentz’s foot. Caused by an old injury, perhaps going back as far as high school.
The Colts rolled the dice on the former North Dakota State signal caller regaining former glories when they handed over a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 second to trade for Wentz. That 2022 second could yet become a first if he performs well.
Indy clearly hopes that Wentz, who was benched in Philly last season and replaced by Jalen Hurts after a disastrous 2020, can be ‘fixed’. Its head coach Frank Reich was offensive coordinator in Philadelphia when Wentz enjoyed his best years.
Wentz, now 28, is currently prominent in the betting to be NFL Comeback Player Of The Year in 2021.
The Colts have had championship-calibre potential for a couple of years now, and believe Wentz could be the quarterback to finally put them over the top for a deep post-season run.
Colts QB options limited
The team is short of quality options at backup QB though - with the pretenders being led by untested draft picks Jacob Eason and Sam Ehlinger. Indianapolis also signed Brett Hundley over the weekend - he struggled badly though in his starts with Green Bay in 2017.
Indy could now look to trade for another veteran QB to provide insurance, with Chicago’s Nick Foles - who won a Super Bowl with Reich in Philly - a likely option.
Indy is out to 6/4 with Sky Bet in the betting to win the AFC South division title. It had been a 21/20 favourite last week, shading nearest rival Tennessee. The Titans are now 4/5 from 11/10.
Odds correct at 0755 BST (02/08/21)
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