The Facts: A day after a stunning loss to the worst team in the league knocked the Colts out of playoff contention, HC Frank Reich declined to commit to Wentz as his starting quarterback in 2022. Asked if Wentz will be the starting quarterback next season, Reich wouldn’t answer. “We loved the team we had this year, we knew everyone we brought in this year, we expected to play winning football,” Reich said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. “Next year’s roster will be next year’s roster. I don’t want to open it up about one player and then start talking about all of them.”
Diehards Line:As PFT reminded readers, that’s a very different answer than Reich gave a year ago, when he was asked whether the Colts wanted to keep Philip Rivers. “As I sit here right now, yes, I want Philip Rivers to be my starting quarterback next year,” Reich said at the end of last season. Rivers retired, the Colts traded for Wentz, and Reich and Wentz appeared to be joined at the hip. Although Wentz played better in 2021 than he did in 2020, his final year with the Eagles, he didn’t reach the same level he had reached early in his career, when Reich was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator. Now the Colts have a big decision to make about how to approach the offseason, and whether they’re going to hand the starting job to Wentz, bring in competition, or move on from him entirely.