Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Colts land Carson Wentz in a blockbuster trade

Episode Date: February 18, 2021

On today's episode, we go over the huge breaking news of Carson Wentz officially becoming the Colts' new quarterback. News broke on Thursday morning that Indy sent Philadelphia No. 84 overall plus a conditional 2nd-round pick for Wentz.This shows how much trust GM Chris Ballard has in HC Frank Reich. Can Reich rejuvenate Wentz's career to where it was in 2017?We go over the compensation, how Wentz will fit on and off the field in Indy, plus what could happen next after the QB domino has fallen.All of this, plus so much more, in a jam-packed episode featuring the Wentz saga finally ending with him as the Colts' new QB1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome back to the latest episode of Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's always your host, Evan Cedri Jordan by George Bremer of the Herald Bulletin, the Colts beat writer. As we are here today to talk through breaking Colts news, the most probably going to be the biggest Colts news in the office. I can't imagine their new franchise quarterback, possibly their new franchise quarterback is on board. Carson Wentz, the Eagles quarterback, was traded to Indianapolis on Thursday morning for a third-round pick, number 84 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, alongside a conditional 2022 second-round pick,

which more than likely will not return to a first-round pick that year if Wentz plays at least 70% to 75% of the snaps. George, how are you doing today here? As the Colts quite possibly might have a new franchise quarterback. Good. It's kind of nice to have this whole saga over with. I think it feels like we've been dealing with these Carson Wentz rumors for about, I don't know, six years.

I mean, it was such a long process. And to finally see it come to an end, I'm very happy about that. First off, George, let's dive in from the Colts' point of view. We'll hit on compensation in just a moment. But you have to imagine all the smoke we've heard around Carson Wentz the last couple weeks, how the Colts have been in it really from day one. It's not like the Bears are kind of just a team lurking in the background as the Colts and Frank Reich.

It sounds like Reich really wanted his guy this whole time. He's seen Carson Wentz at his best. He actually scouted Carson Wentz when he was at North Dakota State with Philadelphia in 2016 when they traded up for him. You have to imagine, George, that especially with Press Taylor on board, my growth to Eagles assistants here with Reich and Wentz in 2017, having three of your top four guys in the offensive staff, having a plus vote for Carson Wentz,

having Wentz be very confident and trustworthy in Frank Reich, and Frank Reich believing he can bring the best out of Carson Wentz again, it seems like this is almost inevitable over of the bowl the last couple weeks. Yeah, I think there's a lot of similarities, obviously, with what happened last year with Phillip Rivers. I mean, it really starts with that relationship with Frank Reich. From everything I've heard, they're extremely close, he and Wentz, off field as well.

There's really a big connection there. They're both very strong in their faith, and I think that that's where the off-field connection really started. Some people even talk about it like almost a familial kind of relationship between them. They're that close. So I think there was always – the Colts were always going to have interest. The question was always would Philadelphia accept whatever price it was

that Indianapolis wanted to pay. And, you know, ultimately I think Chris Ballard got a deal – well, obviously he got a deal he could live with or he wouldn't have made it. I think one of the most important things about this fit is that coaching staff. And that's where it goes back to sort of the thing – the relevance with Rivers. You know, when he came in last year, it wasn't just Reich. Nick Sirianni, the offensive coordinator, had been with him out in San Diego. Jason Michael, the tight ends coach, had been with him.

So there was a lot of familiarity in the same way there will be with Wentz. He came in and he knew those guys. He knew what they were asking. I remember one of the things that he talked about right away was even the fact that they didn't have any, you know, in-person practices all spring, he knew the receivers and he knew what routes they were running because they were being coached the same way by Sirianni that the Chargers receivers were

coached by Sirianni when he was out there as a receivers coach. And so just watching film, he kind of knew, oh, he's going to make this cut here. You know, he's going to round this off. There was a familiarity that another quarterback wouldn't have had. And I think you're going to have a similar situation for Wentz in the fact that Mike Groh, the wide receivers coach here with the Colts, was his offensive coordinator in 2019 with the Eagles and had been there during that Super Bowl run

and in a time that Reich was there as well. So I think there will be little nuances like that. Again, Rivers talked about how important that was. Things that take maybe a whole season or more to build, they were kind of shorthanded this year because he knew it. He'd been around those coaches. He knew the way that this was going to be coached. He knew what the expectations were.

And Wentz should be stepping into the same situation with Mike Groh and with Press Taylor, the new passing game coordinator, who also worked with him for a long time in Philly. Jim Irsay made some kind of reference to that, you know, way back when when he talked to us after the season, that one of the biggest things with Rivers was the ability to come in from day one, you know, produce right away because he had all these people around him. And he talked about it would be ideal to find that situation again.

In some ways, I think they have. With Kirsten Wentz now on board, two guys in Wentz and Reich back together, and like we just mentioned, Press Taylor and Mike Groh, having that whole reunion in Indianapolis is going to be a huge benefit to Kirsten Wentz. And from Chris Bauer's point of view, George, once again, back-to-back years now where he's put full trust in his head coach and Frank Reich. And from behind the scenes, it seems like Reich was pushing a little bit

to get Wentz on board in Indy. Ballard, of course, didn't pay a high price. It could be a high price, so to say. Hopefully it's a lower price in 2022 if it's a later first-round pick. But not giving away your first, second-round pick in 2021, I think is huge for this team to address left tackle or pass rush or add another playmaker on board here. It seemed like to me not only did Chris Bauer do well in this deal,

but also he really, truly believes that Frank Wright can fix Carson Wentz if he does this deal. Yeah, absolutely. I think there's a lot of faith throughout the organization. You know, Ballard has talked a couple times in different interviews through all kinds of different media during this offseason about how much faith he has personally in Frank Reich and the coaching staff. You know, he said on several occasions, whoever the quarterback is,

I have total faith that they will get him to that top level. He'll be as good as he can be in the system because of the coaches. But also Jim Ursae has talked several times. Oh, my dog is going to weigh in a little bit here. Jim Ursae has also talked several times that he has such faith in Ballard and Wright to make the right decisions in these kind of situations and, you know, to build the right kind of pieces around him. I think that's one of the biggest things about this deal. You kind of alluded to it. You still got your first and

second round pick this year. So you can still address that left tackle problem. You can still address that pass rusher problem. If you take care of one of those in free agency, you can still add a wide receiver or a tight end or, you know, another weapon to this team. And I think that's ultimately, it sounds like that's part of what went wrong in Philadelphia. They were holding on to an aging base for a little too long and they weren't drafting well enough to replace those players. And so the team around Wentz was falling apart. And I think he started trying to do too much. I mean, I haven't really gone back and studied anything just yet. But from what you hear coming out of Philly and from what you just saw watching games as a fan, you know, as somebody who likes football, it seemed like he was trying to

play a little bit of hero ball last year. There were times where he was trying to take everything onto his shoulders, put on that cape and be the superhero and it led to a lot of mistakes a lot of bad play I think it led to him holding onto the ball too long because he was trying to make up for things that he saw as deficiencies with that roster that that shouldn't be a problem here you know this one of the things about this offseason a reason quarterback was such an important piece to get, was that people feel like this team is well poised to make a run. They're coming off an 11-5 year. They were very close in that loss to the Bills. A couple things go the other way.

They win that game, and then who knows what happens moving forward. There shouldn't be any reason for Carson Wentz to feel like he has to come in here and be a hero. And I think that's something Phillip Rivers kind of adjusted to over his time here early in the year. It seemed like he was trying to be that heroic guy and throw into double teams and throw into triple teams and make plays that weren't there. And as the season went on somewhere about week five, week six,

he just seemed to understand, hey, there's a good offensive line in front of me. There's a defense that can do its job. The running game got better and better as the year went on. And he was able to just make plays that complimented everybody else. I think if Carson Wentz can understand that kind of ratio, that formula, I think things can work here. Colts fans, rockauto.com is the place to go if you want to save money on your next car purchase, whether it be saving over $150 like field pump assembly

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and see all the parts available for your car or truck. Write Locked On in the How's Your Boss box saying Locked On Colts sent you over there. Again, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N in the How's Your Boss box saying that Locked On Colts sent you over there. February is Black History Month, and the Locked On Podcast Network is honoring the challenges and success of black men and women in sports

with a new series called Locked On Presents More Than The Game. Right now, you can hear Candace Cooper of Locked On Tar Heels and Eric Aila of Locked On Women's Basketball discuss the opportunities and challenges that come with being a black woman in sports. Subscribe to the Locked On Taros and Eric Aila of Locked On Women's Basketball discuss the opportunities and challenges that come with being a black woman in sports. Subscribe to the Locked On Presents podcast via the Radio.com app or every day of your podcast. Yeah, and speaking of that, with the familiarity with the system,

and you also add in, George, the running game with Jonathan Taylor, probably the best running back he's ever played with, Carson Wentz, is Jonathan Taylor. You throw in the young weapons with Pittman and Campbell, if he stays healthy. T.Y. Hilton, if he returns, or you add a big weapon in free agency or the draft. And then from there, you have the offensive line. I don't think he's ever had anything close to this offensive line in Indianapolis that he has over the last five years in Philadelphia. The defense is a top 10 defense ready to explode again in 2021 and add more weapons to whether

it be a cornerback or pass rusher. It seems like the infrastructure, including Chris Bauer, Frank Reich, and the familiar and the coaching staff with Press Taylor and Mike Groh, really all the ingredients are in place, George, where it's pretty much on Carson Wentz at this point to prove that he's worth the reclamation project because it's really a perfect environment for him to kind of revive his career. Absolutely.

And all the reports are that this is where he wanted to be, that this is where he was pushing in the process as well to end up. And those are the reasons why. I don't think there's any mystery as to why both sides like this fit. But it is. I think it's absolutely – it's on Wentz's shoulders now. And a lot of it comes down to, you know, is he willing to do what T.Y. Hilton did last year

and sacrifice numbers maybe in some cases or sacrifice glory to some extent so that for the betterment of the team. And we know Frank Reich's not going to change on this attitude. He wants to run the football. That's a big part of what they want to do. And Jonathan Taylor, the way he played the last few weeks of the season, last month or so of the year, why would you not have that mentality? So, you know, again, it's not going to be on Wentz's shoulders the way it was on Andrew Luck's shoulders early in his career here. And I think that should be good for him.

You know, he shouldn't feel a lot of pressure to come in and be, you know, some MVP caliber quarterback. If he plays at that level, great. It'll only take the team to, you know, even higher points. But all he's got to do is come in and be a top 15 kind of guy. And I think one of the things that the Colts really like about this is you're going with a lot of the same things you had with Phil Pervers, but now you've got a better athlete.

You've got a guy who can make some plays with his legs. He's going to open up more of the RPO game. It's going to open up some of the other things that Reich likes to do with this offense that we saw a little bit with Andrew Luck. They really weren't there as much because of Phillip Rivers just isn't that kind of quarterback. There's a lot of things he does very, very well. Running isn't one of them.

He'll be the first to admit that. So I think the offense will change a little bit because of that as well too. Looking at this from the trade compensation point of view, of course, sending the third-round pick this year, what's more than likely than not going to be a 2022 first-round pick? What was your first reaction to that, George? Because like we've been talking about throughout this podcast so far, if Carson Wentz does hit an Indy, that's a price worth paying 10 out of 10 times.

If it doesn't, it could be a really big roll of the dice there where the Colts might have to bench Carson Wentz to be so bad this next year that you might have to just sit him out for the last four weeks of the season to avoid that 75% snap count. I mean, what's your overall thoughts on the gamble that they've made compensation-wise? Do you like the price? Yeah, I do.

You know, I think the biggest thing was keeping those first two picks this year because there are other needs, and we've talked about that already a little bit, other things that they need to accomplish this off season, starting with that left tackle and also the edge pass rusher. I mean, I think those are almost equal needs. Maybe the defensive end is a little bit higher because you got to get after the quarterback and that's so important and bringing Wentz in and that

mobility, maybe you can live with a left tackle a little bit lower cost than maybe you'd need if somebody like Phillip Rivers was back there. Knowing that the other four guys are good, maybe it's just a matter of rolling him to the right side a little bit more, giving that left tackle some help. And you don't need to go get a high-priced free agent or somebody like that to fill that role. But I think

keeping those first two picks and knowing that you're going to be able to add those pieces was huge and then you know as you mentioned the the compensation right now if you play 70 percent of the snaps and they make the playoffs or he plays 75 percent of the snaps and they don't then that becomes the first round pick in 2022 but the hope there is if he plays 75% of the snaps or 70% and they make the playoffs, that that pick is low enough that it's closer to a second-rounder anyway. I feel like if Wentz is the quarterback they think he is, and if the season goes the way they hope it does, it'll be a perfect cost to play. If it doesn't, then, yeah, he probably won't meet that criteria

because he will probably get benched at some point if he's not playing well enough and it'll be a second rounder. And on top of that, the way the contract has worked, there's been a lot of talk about, you know, how bad his contract is. It's bad for Philly. It's not bad for the team that acquires him. He got about $47 million left, I think, in guarantees over the next two years. That's going to average out to about $23.5 million on a two-year deal. That's less than what they paid Phillip Rivers last year. And if things don't work out, they can walk away from it without a whole lot of pain this year. But they can definitely walk away from it almost

scot-free in two years. I know, I think in terms of risk, it's similar to the deal they made with Jacoby Brissett after Andrew Luck retired. Here's a two-year deal that's going to pay you good money. If you take advantage of it, then maybe you're the guy for the future. And if not, it's something that the team can walk away from with not much harm and start over again.

I think that's a simple point here, George, but I think a lot of Colts fans, just from the early reactions that I've seen so far, of course, you can get out Carson Wentz contract after next year, it'd be about $15 million against the cap for the Colts. And in the year after that, it'd be really, it's a two-year $48 million contract. If it doesn't work out next year, they can get off scot-free. But from the Colts point of view, I mean, you have Phillip Rivers on board last year. He just turned 39 years old at the end of the season.

Carson Wentz is 28 years old until December of this year. So he's almost 11 years younger than Phillip Rivers, George. It's really good to show you just how young Wentz is and how he could really be that new guy for the next 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years if it all goes perfectly well here in Indianapolis. I mean, it seems like from all indications, if you do fix Carson Wentz, George, this is the Colts' guy for the next 7, 8 mean, it seems like from all indications, if you do fix Carson Wentz, George, this is the Colts guy for the next seven, eight years, right? I think that's what made this so appealing to them, because you've obviously got that

relationship with Reich and familiarity with the system. And so if things go the way the Colts hope they do, or they wouldn't make this deal to begin with, yeah, then you solve this issue. And considering where they were in August 2019 when Andrew Luck retired, to think that you could be sitting here in February of 2021 and feel like there's even a possibility that that hole is filled is pretty remarkable. I think that's something that you really need to keep in mind.

Generally, when a player like Andrew Luck leaves a team unexpectedly, the way that happened two years know, two years ago, that can set a franchise back for a decade or more. This team made a playoffs a year later and now is feeling like, hey, if a couple things go their way, they're right back where they were. You know, they're right back in contention. They should be talked about as a contender in the AFC. I don't think any of that is out of reach now.

It all comes down to what we talked about earlier. You know, can Carson Wentz fix some of the things that really hurt him? Because the other part of this that can't be ignored, this was a historic regression for him this season. I don't know if there's really any other point you can look at where a quarterback at his age who had accomplished what he had accomplished his first four years in the league dropped off to such a huge degree you know 57.4 percent completions only a six yards per attempt average I mean those are the two biggest numbers that that Frank Reich looks at in this offense and they were terrible

there's no question about that it was an absolutely horrible year. But obviously the Colts think that that is a blip in not, you know, what he's going to be going forward. And they think they can get him back to that pre 2020 form. If they do, I think this move is, is remarkable. And if they don't, as we've talked about before, I think they they've limited the cost pretty effectively here. Bet online is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your sports action. Football might be over, but the NBA, college basketball, and NHL

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We'll see what happens next, but we've heard a lot of inklings out of Philadelphia about Wentz being a leader in the locker room, how maybe some four players were divided about him with Jalen Hurts and Nick Foles over the years. I mean, from the Colts standpoint, what really stuck to me today, just following along on social media, was it felt like George, almost every single Colt player, was able to go out and tweet about the Carson Wentz news saying, welcome to Indy. I can't wait to see you.

Like Michael Pittman Jr., Jonathan Taylor, Zach Paschal, Darius Leonard, just name a few of those guys. It seemed like almost every single player has tweeted about Carson Wentz at this point, gave him some support in the Colts. But this locker room, George, I know Chris got to tell this many times throughout his tenure as a Colts GM, but if there is any sort of question about Carson Wentz from a player-to-player standpoint, this is the place for him to go

and really mature and really rehab his image on that standpoint because it seemed like the Colts are really on board here and this locker room is ready to handle a player like Wentz. Yeah, I think so. I think so. I think that's obviously been a huge focal point for this team, that locker room culture. I don't know. There's an interview the last four years or so that we've done with Chris Ballard that hasn't included that in some form or another.

And I think the biggest, the most important thing in that factor to me are Quentin Nelson and Darius Leonard because they just won't accept anything else. You know, those two guys control that locker room to such a degree that if your quarterback's stepping out of line, they won't be afraid to go and tell him, you know, and get up in his face and make that clear to everyone. And I think that's – I don't know that that's true everywhere.

You know, quarterbacks have natural leadership. They have to. It's obviously I don't know that that's true everywhere. You know, quarterbacks have natural leadership. They have to. It's obviously a position that requires that. But I think this is one of those rare teams where a quarterback can kind of take a little bit of a backseat, be the third or fourth leader on the team and not necessarily the number one guy because you guys have strong voices in Nelson and Leonard who are setting that tone and making the standards well known. I think it's a good place for Winston

Lyon in that regard too because he's not going to have to walk in day one and be the leader of this team. He can grow into that role organically and, you know, just see how that develops over the years instead of being forced into it. The other element with that that I wonder is what number is Michael Pittman going to wear him now? He's already had two with the Colts. Is he on his way to a third number now?

Oh, I sure hope just from a wide receiver standpoint. I really like 11 on him. Maybe Carson Wentz has turned a new leaf here and goes a different number. But if so, I think Michael Pittman's in for a hefty, hefty compensation from Carson Wentz because I don't think he's going to get that number very easily, George. But last thing here I wanted to hit on with you before I let you go. I appreciate the time as always talking through today's breaking news about Carson Wentz because I don't think he's going to get that number very easily, George. But last thing here I wanted to hit on with you before I let you go. I appreciate the time, as always, talking through today's breaking news about Carson Wentz being trade official

to the Indianapolis Colts. We made league official next month on the newly year. But now with this domino of quarterback falling, which the Colts have had to answer all year long, George, you have Carson Wentz now on board. What happens next in your opinion? You have now the big question mark at left tackle, in my opinion. They have still to fill that.

And also you have cornerback, wide receiver. You have Xavier Rhodes, T.Y. Hilton probably at the top of the list as far as free agents go. What happens next for this team? It's going to be very interesting what happens this offseason because, in my opinion, George, I could see Chris Bauer thinking, okay, I'm really gambling here on Carson Wentz for the next two years. If it doesn't go well, we might be in a position where we have to really

strengthen the roster through free agency. I can really see maybe going in free agency and making a big move of wide receiver or, and or a pass rusher to bolster this team up a little bit more and raise the center for Carson Wentz. What do you think happens next for this team, George? Yeah, I think, you know,

I haven't looked at it as deeply as I'd want to yet because it's been a little distracted with the quarterback situation, but from all reports, it's a really good free agent class at edge rusher. And I think that's the next step. I really do. I think you go and you fill that spot and then you look to the draft for, for that left tackle, because I think it's a deep,

it sounds like it's a deep on paper draft class at left tackle. And so I think they can maybe get that guy fill fill that hole for the foreseeable future as well. I think if you can bring those three things together that way, you know, trading for Wentz, going out and signing your big time pass rusher, and then going out and getting your left tackle at the start of the draft, I think you'd feel really good about those three spots. And they were huge question marks. I mean, we've talked several times just since season ended

about how big this offseason is because those are three of the most important positions on the field, and the Colts had really big questions at all of them. It feels like filling that quarterback hole makes you feel better about the other two, and I think they're in good shape now to go out, sign that defensive end, draft that tackle, and feel pretty good about where they are. George, like you talked about earlier in the show, if Wentz hits, this team could be really good next year. If he can return, if the 2017 Wentz returns, this could be like a

13-plus win team and a pre-no-soul brook contender. But realistically, these are the 2018-19 form, probably fighting for the division with Tennessee next year. What's your real estate expectations? I know we still have free agency in the draft to come where Chris Bowers is going to have a lot of talent either way. But adding Carson Wentz on board, what do you think the ceiling is for this Colts team next year? Yeah, you know, I think it's got to start where they ended. And Ursa also kind of hinted at that, that they went 11-5

and they made a wild card playoff berth and they want to build off of that. So I think to me, that's the bare minimum. Realistically, they should compete for the AFC South title, which, if they can win that, would be an improvement. And they should want to win at least one playoff game. I think you're going to hear them talking about the Super Bowl because that's been the case really since Fowler took over. Hersey's still talking about wanting to win two, not just one.

So I think the expectations are going to be really high. I think they should be really high. But I think the bottom line is, you know, replicating what happened a year ago and maybe going that next step forward. So win the division and win a playoff game I think is realistic and something that they really should be shooting for. George, I always enjoy having you on the show. You can go follow George on Twitter if you're not already,

at GMBremmer, and go read his work, as always, over at the Herald Bulletin. He does some great work on the Indianapolis Colts. George, appreciate the time, and I'll let you get back to your work on Carson Wentz. It's going to be, I imagine, a very busy week and weeks upcoming here for you covering the Colts. It's definitely going to be interesting.

Thanks a lot, Evan.