Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
A day after a big trade involving a high-profile quarterback rocked the NFL news cycle, Wednesday brought another, albeit less high-profile, trade, with the Indianapolis Colts reportedly agreeing to send QB Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders. The Colts will receive picks, including two third-rounders, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Wentz came to Indianapolis from Philadelphia last offseason and showed some flashes, raising his passer rating from 72.8 in 2020 to 94.6 and improving his TD:INT ratio from 16:15 to 27:7. He was inconsistent, however, and all but collapsed late in the season when the Colts were in prime position to make the playoffs, leading to the Colts’ plan to move on. He now heads to Washington, where he will have a stable of weapons that includes RB Antonio Gibson and WR Terry McLaurin.
Carson Wentz Heads to Washington, Fantasy Impact
Fantasy impact: This warrants all sorts of “we’ll see” caveats. Washington definitely needed to find a quarterback after the Ryan Fitzpatrick contract ended in injury and Taylor Heinicke wasn’t up to the task of being a full-time starter. Is Wentz that quarterback? If he couldn’t make it work in Indianapolis under his former coach Frank Reich, it’s hard to imagine how it might work in Washington. On the other hand, he might be enough of a slight upgrade over Heinicke to help bring Terry McLaurin back to the more consistent producer he was in his first two seasons than the up-and-down performance of 2021.
As for Indianapolis, all this creates is questions. The team had to move on from Wentz, but now the only quarterbacks on the roster are Sam Ehlinger and James Morgan, and neither will be the Week 1 starter in 2022. With Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman, this is a desirable job, but the names available are running slim, especially with the Colts lacking a first-round pick to draft one this year. Jimmy Garoppolo? We can’t really evaluate the Colts’ situation until the QB question is answered. – Daniel Kelley
