Acquiring quarterback Carson Wentz was the biggest move of the 2022 offseason for the Washington Commanders. After striking out on multiple quarterbacks, such as Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Jimmy Garoppolo, Washington head coach Ron Rivera turned to Wentz.
In acquiring Wentz, the Commanders gave up a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, swapped places in the second round of the same draft and a conditional draft pick in 2023 that turned into a third-round selection.
In return, Washington received eight games of Wentz, with a record of 2-5 as the starter. Wentz completed 62% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
One of the more memorable moments from Washington’s 2022 season was just before its Thursday night game at Chicago in Week 6. This was when the ESPN story broke of owner Daniel Snyder supposedly saying he had dirt on other owners. Also included in that report was the notion that it was Snyder who pushed for Wentz — not Rivera.
After the game, an emotional Rivera was fired up, saying it was he who wanted and pushed for Wentz. Later in the season, with the offense struggling under Heinicke, he gave Wentz another shot. It failed miserably, leading to rookie Sam Howell starting Week 18.
On Monday, Washington released Wentz. It was the least surprising transaction you’ll see this offseason, saving the Commanders $26 million in 2023.
According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, Rivera would have preferred to have met with Wentz to inform him of the team’s decision to release him, but conflicting schedules made that impossible.
On the release of QB Carson Wentz: I’m told Ron Rivera was hoping to meet with Wentz face-to-face to inform him the organization is moving in another direction since Wentz resides in Indy. Because schedules didn’t sync-up, Rivera called to discuss their decision. #Commanders
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 27, 2023
Rivera deserves credit for wanting to handle it the old-fashioned way. However, it was clear by Week 6 that Wentz wouldn’t be in Washington next season.