The Washington Commanders have landed their quarterback after a rigorous search. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Indianapolis Colts have agreed to trade Carson Wentz to the Commanders for a package that includes two third-round draft picks.
Interesting note is Washington and Indianapolis are swapping second-round draft picks this year. The Commanders will move back five selections in the round to 47th overall.
Also, the 2023 third-round pick that the Colts are sending the Commanders becomes a second-round pick if Wentz plays 70 percent of Washington’s offensive plays next season.
Washington is also taking on Wentz’s full contract that will pay him just over $28.2 million and include a $5 million roster bonus owed next week.
The Commanders were dead set on landing a big-ticket quarterback. They made a strong offer to the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson in a package that reportedly included three first-round draft picks.
However, Wilson wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause for Washington and thus he was traded to the Denver Broncos on Monday. That forced Washington to turn their attention to the other options, ultimately landing on Wentz.
For Wentz, he will be returning to the NFC East after one season in Indianapolis. He spent five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles after being the second overall draft pick in 2016.
He appeared to be the franchise quarterback. He was on pace for an MVP-caliber season in 2017 but a torn ACL forced him to watch Nick Foles guide the Eagles to Super Bowl championship. Wentz never caught the same magic after returning in 2018.
Wentz fell out of favor with the Eagles and was traded last offseason to the Colts for a 2021 third-round pick and what turned into a 2022 first-round pick. In Indianapolis he was expected to rekindle that fire reuniting with his former offensive coordinator Frank Reich.
Wentz threw for 3,563 yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions last year with the Colts.
However, Wentz flamed out towards the end of the season. He was largely blamed for the Colts losing the last two games of the season costing them a berth in the playoffs.
Still, Wentz presents an upgrade over Taylor Heinicke, who was Washington’s primary starter last season.
