Commanders pursued retired QB before settling for Wentz originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Washington Commanders made a desperation trade for ex-Eagles and now ex-Colts QB Carson Wentz earlier this month, a hilarious prayer of a deal as they search for any kind of competency at quarterback.
Why they believe Wentz is the answer is beyond me -- he's not awful, but he's simply too mistake-prone and his body is too battered for him to be anywhere near a legit franchise guy -- but they gave all the right answers at Wentz's introductory news conference.
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Commanders head coach Ron Rivera called Wentz a "young man [they] really believe in" and Wentz said he has a "clear vision" of "hopes and dreams" in Washington.
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But before all the heart-eyes at that presser Washington was so desperate to find a quarterback, any quarterback, that they reportedly reached out to a guy who hasn't played since 2018 and has shown no inclination of returning to football.
Yes, before Washington put a call in to Indianapolis about Wentz, they wanted to see if Andrew Luck was interested in making a comeback.
ESPN reporter John Keim detailed that part of Washington's QB journey here in a recent story:
"[Aaron] Rodgers and [Russell] Wilson weren't viable options. Rodgers wasn't going to be traded and Seattle rejected Washington's offer of three first-round picks. [Deshaun] Watson's legal issues, among other factors, made him a no-go. The Commanders also watched film of many other quarterbacks just in case.
"At one point they even wondered: Would Andrew Luck, the retired former Colt, want to play again? That went nowhere. But whether it was realistic or a Lloyd Christmas "So you're telling me there's a chance" scenario, they wanted to make sure every "i" was dotted.
"At some point before the combine, they called Indianapolis about Wentz and were told he wasn't available.
"Then, at the combine, after talking to other teams, they learned Wentz was in play."
Incredible.
Washington surveyed the quarterback landscape, watched film of "many" quarterbacks, and decided that they should call Luck -- who has reiterated on multiple occasions that he's not coming back -- before pursuing Wentz.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
And, hilariously, the same thing happened last offseason when the Colts scanned the QB landscape following Philip Rivers' retirement. They contacted the retired Luck and asked about a comeback, were told no, and then eventually traded for Wentz.
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Now, some might say it's not a slight for these teams to look into a Luck return over a Wentz trade considering how great the ex-Colts quarterback was during his playing days. And that's true; Luck was incredible.
But everyone in the entire world knows Luck is completely done with football, and he also hasn't played for four years and looks like a completely different person these days. I don't know if he'd even be able to get back into football shape by the start of 2022 NFL season, but Washington still said, 'Hey, we'd take him before we'd take Wentz.'
Rough stuff. We'll see how Wentz fares in D.C. compared to his disappointing season in Indy. The Eagles get to face their ex-franchise QB twice. It should be a hoot.
