Colts
The connections between the Colts and Carson Wentz were obvious thanks to the bond Wentz had with HC Frank Reich when the two were in Philadelphia together in 2017. There still was a vetting process that the Colts had to go through before feeling comfortable enough to surrender what they had to give to the Eagles to trade for Wentz. Though Wentz played at an MVP level in 2017, it was a review of his 2019 tape that sold Reich on a reunion.
“I wasn’t just saying, ‘Well, O.K., in 2017, he was having an MVP type of year,’” Reich said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “All you had to do, for me, was turn on the film in 2019, and with four games to go the Eagles needed to win out. And not only did they need to win out, but in each of those games, as I recall, looking at the film, Carson had to play great in the second half, and play a major role in that team winning those games in the second half. Now, they were team wins, they were team efforts, it wasn’t a one-man show. But Carson made the plays that a quarterback needs to make when you need to win four games in a row to make the playoffs. He did that, and that wasn’t 2017. That was 2019. So in my mind, that just confirmed to me this guy still has it.”
Reich is aware of the narrative that he’ll need to fix Wentz after an abysmal 2020 season with the Eagles where even executing the most basic plays was like pulling teeth for Wentz. But he’s confident the environment in Indianapolis can help Wentz and he says he’s already had a talk with him to set the tone.
“I’ve already had a conversation with Carson, to say, ‘O.K., everybody’s throwing the word ‘fix’ around and I get it,’” Reich said. “I wanted to get that off the table with Carson, because as a coach, you’re not trying to make it all about you. I’m not the fixer. We work together. It’s collaborative. Our whole staff works together in partnership with the player. And we all have the same objective, we’re all working to get better.
“So are we going to work to get better? Yeah, we’re going to work to get better. Do I have certain things in mind that I think need to improve? Yeah, I do. And we’ve talked about those things. And we talked about them again today. After his press conference, we sat in my office for a little bit talking about a couple of things. But I’m not saying anything that Carson isn’t already saying himself. He knows.”
- Joel Corry notes that Colts DT DeForest Buckner’s $5 million fifth day of 2022 league year roster bonus became fully guaranteed.
Jaguars
- Per Jacksonville.com’s John Reid, new Jaguars RB Carlos Hyde said he joined the team because of new HC Urban Meyer: “Once I knew Urban Meyer was coming to Jax to be a head coach that was it for me.”
Texans
- Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer writes the wave of allegations against Texans QB Deshaun Watson will likely put any possible trade talks on hold. Even if Houston were willing to discuss a deal, which they still aren’t, Breer points out they’ll want a historic haul and these types of allegations will give other teams pause from offering that kind of deal, at least until things play out more.
- Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson reports every team that has been interested in Watson is trying to figure out what’s going on with the allegations and not rushing to make a deal.
- Joel Corry notes that $10 million of Texans OT Laremy Tunsil‘s $17.85 million base salary for the 2022 season is now fully guaranteed. He had $10 million of this figure already fully guaranteed.
Titans
- Joel Corry notes that Titans QB Ryan Tannehill’s injury guaranteed $29 million base salary for the 2022 season is now fully guaranteed.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
