Washington chased Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson before settling for Carson Wentz: Report
This off-season, the Washington Commanders' most important question was who would be their starting quarterback to begin the 2022-2023 season? That question got answered the other day as they acquired Carson Wentz from the Indianapolis Colts.
It took the Commanders a second-round pick, a third-round pick, and another third-round pick that could turn into a second-round pick. In return, the Commanders got Wentz, a second-round pick, and a seventh-round pick.
Comp update: Washington also is receiving a 2022 7th-round pick from Indianapolis as the last part of the Carson Wentz trade that is sending him from the Colts to the Commanders, per source.
Wash gets: Wentz, a 2nd and a 7th.
Colts get: a 2nd, a 3rd and a conditional 3rd.
As part of the trade, Washington will also take on Wentz's entire $28 million this season, lifting a lot of weight off the Colts' shoulders. As Washington was desperate to acquire a reliable starting quarterback for 2022, Wentz wasn't their first option. According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Washington was interested in Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Mitchell Trubisky before landing Wentz.
Fowler wrote on Twitter:
"Washington's exhaustive QB search spanned five trade options (Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, Jimmy Garoppolo) along with Mitch Trubisky as a prime free agency target before zeroing in on the Wentz deal, per source."
Washington's exhaustive QB search spanned five trade options (Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, Jimmy Garoppolo) along with Mitch Trubisky as a prime free agency target before zeroing in on the Wentz deal, per source.
We saw Aaron Rodgers re-sign with the Packers on a record-setting deal. The Commanders had offered the Seahawks a more attractive offer than the Broncos, but they wouldn't trade Wilson out of the NFC, and Wilson reportedly only wanted to be traded there.
The Commanders offered several high picks for Russell Wilson before he was dealt to the Broncos, sources tell @AlbertBreer trib.al/uaCiHin
Washington didn't want to wait on Watson's legal situation to be resolved, and Jimmy G recently had shoulder surgery, so maybe that turned them off. Since they acquired Wentz, they obviously won't be interested in Trubsiky, but he is expected to have a hot market.
Indianapolis Colts will now have to find their starting quarterback for 2022 following the Carson Wentz trade
Now that the Colts have traded away Carson Wentz, they'll be searching for their quarterback under center in 2022. According to overthecap.com, the Colts now have the most cap space in the league with a whopping $69.8 million following the Wentz trade.
This year, whatever quarterback is set to take snaps under center for the Colts is in a good position. The Colts have a solid overall roster that features All-Pros guard Quentin Nelson, running back Jonathan Taylor, and linebacker Darius Leonard. Indy also came close to clinching a playoff spot last season, finishing the regular season 9-8. In the previous week, they had a chance to get into the playoffs, but the Jacksonville Jaguars ruined their plans with an upset victory.
There are rumors that the Colts could trade for a quarterback such as Deshaun Watson or Jimmy G, or they could choose to address that in the draft with their second-round pick if a quarterback of their liking is still there.