Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz is facing the most turbulent part of his career coming off of a disastrous 2020 season, looking to prove his most recent showing of football isn’t indicative of what kind of player he is.
He has plenty of work to do himself whether it’s fixing his mechanics with 3DQB’s Adam Dedeaux or getting acclimated with his new teammates via workouts and bonding sessions.
Ultimately, through his first few months with the team, Wentz believes something is building.
“I’d say right when the trade happened, obviously getting a handful of texts from coaches, members of the organization, teammates, right away I was like, ‘It seems like there’s a lot of maturity in that locker room, a lot of guys who really get it,’” Wentz told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated in a phone interview. “Then, really, when we had our two weeks together at the facility, even though we still had three different locker rooms because of protocols, when you walked in with the organization, when you walked out on that field, when got in the huddle, when you got with the team and broke it down at the end of practice, when we shot hoops on the field, and played those fun games, there’s something special here. I could just tell.”
The Colts and Wentz said and did all the right things during the spring workouts. Many of his teammates were impressed with both his play and his ability to lead—the latter of which had surprisingly come into question late in his tenure with the Eagles.
But Wentz now has the supporting cast that he needs to make a comeback. He has a head coach and play-caller that believes in him, an organization willing to do what it takes to get him back on track and a roster that is hungry for top-tier quarterback play.
Being a perennial contender is the goal even if Wentz tries not to focus on that too much.
“You try to not think too much about that, you try to live in the moment, live in the present,” Wentz said. “But like you said, when you look around and see not just the talent, but the young talent. And then you combine that young talent with what we just talked about, a lot of good dudes, a lot of not just good players, but good people? It’s exciting. Don’t get me wrong, it’s exciting. There’s something special brewing here.”
The Colts are hoping the trade for Wentz will get them in the conversation among the top teams in the AFC, and we’ll have to wait and see just how special this team is until they kick off the regular season at home against the Seattle Seahawks.