When the Washington Commanders traded for Carson Wentz back in March, it wasn’t met with rave reviews around the NFL. A former No. 2 pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, Wentz wore out his welcome with the quarterback’s original team before spending just one season with the Indianapolis Colts.
That season in Indianapolis was apparently toxic with Wentz reportedly displaying traits that don’t align with being a franchise quarterback in today’s NFL.
This new report from Tim Keown and Nick Wagoner of ESPN now seems to indicate that Wentz wasn’t the Commanders’ first choice. Instead, that was San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
“According to multiple league sources, the Niners believed one of those interested teams — the Washington Commanders — was poised to become Garoppolo’s next NFL home. But that plan was scuttled soon after; Garoppolo’s shoulder wasn’t healing as he and his medical team hoped.”
Report on Washington Commanders’ interest in Jimmy Garoppolo
Garoppolo underwent shoulder surgery on March 8 after a much-debated delay. Washington traded for Wentz a week later. You can do the math from there.
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This isn’t a report Washington’s brass wanted to come out following an ugly Week 2 loss to the Detroit Lions. In particular, the view of Wentz around the league could paint a certain picture. Though, that’s a narrative we can easily conclude is driven by Wentz’s former Colts team.
“I think the worst thing you can do is have a mistake and try to keep living with it going forward. For us, it was something we had to move away from as a franchise. It was very obvious.”
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay on trading Carson Wentz
Based on their shared histories, Garoppolo likely would have been a better option than Wentz. He’s seen as a team leader. He helped San Francisco to two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance in the past three seasons. To put that into perspective, Washington’s franchise hasn’t been to the conference title since 1991.
Even then, Wentz has seemingly turned his career around early in his tenure with the Commanders despite a 1-1 start to the season.
- Carson Wentz stats (2022): 66% completion, 650 yards, 7 TD, 3 INT, 100.3 QB rating
Behind the scenes, everything should be settled. Wentz is the current Commanders starting quarterback. Garoppolo will assume the same role in San Francisco following the season-ending injury to Trey Lance.
It’s time for all sides to move on, Wentz included.