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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Ivan Lambert

Longtime Colts insider says Carson Wentz trade was ‘owner-driven’

Hey, Commanders fans, a wise man hears both sides of a matter.

This wise saying was proven true again Wednesday when Colts insider Mike Chappell of FOX59/CBS4 Sports in Indianapolis was a guest on the “Al Galdi Podcast.” Chappell has covered the Colts since 1984 and certainly dropped some good information Wednesday.

MC: “Wentz was not the only reason this team imploded at all. If the defense makes one stop in the second half against Baltimore, just one stop and stop a two-point conversion, they are in the playoffs.”

MC: “He played awful the last two games.. and GM Chris Ballard has mentioned how Wentz did not make the layups he often could have made. Too often there were plays that could have been made and too often he did not make the layups.”

“They thought they could fix him from what was wrong his last year in Philly and it didn’t work. The caution I would give for Washington is it didn’t work with Frank Reich with whom Wentz had his best years in Philly.”

“This was owner-driven…for him to drive this is unusual it really is…For them to move on from Wentz after only one year, told me volumes of at least what the owner wanted to do. He wanted to have anyone but Carson Wentz as his quarterback.”

“Irsay called in Ballard and Reich the night of the Jacksonville (season finale loss) game. He never does that. In his mind (Irsay) this had to be done. I am guessing Frank Reich didn’t go to that meeting expecting to be told that they were done with Wentz.”

“At the end of the day we are going to get a united front (of Irsay, Ballard, Reich) but this was one of those rare times the owner stepped in and said, ‘This is what we are doing’…They were just done with him. If you don’t trust your quarterback, what do you have? Enough people with votes didn’t trust him.”

“Jeff George (former Colt and briefly Washington QB) had one of the greatest arms I’ve ever seen, but he just didn’t have the ‘it factor.’ They just didn’t think Carson Wentz had the it factor. But having said that I know there have been a couple of players come out in support of Wentz like Jonathan Taylor (running back).”

“I tell you, something we will never hear for a lot of reasons, his not being vaccinated, bothered the owner…A problem they had was a lot of the team leaders were not vaccinated. Darius Leonard, Braden Smith, Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly and these were the leaders…Maybe the owner thought, “If my quarterback had been more of a leader and gotten vaccinated and done this with the team, maybe…”

“I am convinced on some level the fact that so many players tested positive late and the way they faded, I believe the two are connected.”

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