Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is still feeling the aftershock of the Carson Wentz experiment, weeks after trading the former No. 2 overall pick to Washington. Irsay just can’t seem to get past his mistake of trading for Wentz last offseason and how the team fell apart, led by the QB at the end of last season.
Some things are just hard to get over, and it feels like Irsay is holding onto the Wentz experience as if he were the one smacked across the face by Will Smith in front of the world. Weeks after freeing his franchise of Wentz, Irsay is still throwing shots at his former QB.
“I think the worst thing you can do is have a mistake and try to keep living with it going forward,” Irsay said at the NFL owner’s meetings in Palm Beach, Fl.
“For us, it was something we had to move away from as a franchise. It was very obvious.”
Rumors about Wentz not being a great locker room guy or team leader were out there before Irsay traded for him last offseason. What Irsay is saying can certainly be understood. Mistakes happen, and Irsay decided to cut bait sooner rather than later. But for him to continue to go at Wentz in such a way just feels petty.
“In having conversations with trusted veterans on the team, when you speak to them in confidence, oftentimes they share really, what’s happening,” Irsay said. “What I found out was very concerning.”
“You can’t always persuade people to do things differently if they don’t want to do them differently,” Irsay said.
This short-lived relationship between the Colts and Wentz sounds like it was doomed to fail from the start. If Wentz’s former offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, wasn’t the head coach in Indy, this deal probably wouldn’t have happened when it did. Reich vouched for Wentz to Irsay, then had to apologize after things didn’t work out the way he’d envisioned.
The Colts have had a tough time finding a QB ever since Andrew Luck abruptly handed in his notice before the 2019 season. They’ve gone from Jacoby Brissett to Philip Rivers, then Carson Wentz. In 2022 the Colts will trot out their fourth stop-gap QB in four years after trading for Matt Ryan this offseason.
It’s understandable that Irsay could feel duped in some ways by Wentz. But the information was out there on him. I’m sure plenty of people within the Eagles organization would have given up the goods on Wentz and how he was viewed in the Philly locker room. It’s one thing to take your head coach’s advice, but it’s another thing to engage in your own due diligence.
So, it’s time for Jimmy to lay this grudge to rest. Wentz got over on you, so to speak. You’ve got your new QB, who is undoubtedly a better leader and locker room guy than Wentz, so be happy. For Irsay to still be going at Wentz publicly like this is immature and senseless. Irsay should let his team’s improvement on the field do the talking. If Indy makes the Playoffs in year one with Ryan, then Irsay and the Colts win that battle.
