Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz doesn’t consider his one year with the Indianapolis Colts as a “mistake”, as Jim Irsay described it.
Now that Carson Wentz is far, far away from Indianapolis, Colts owner Jim Irsay got real with how he felt about Wentz’ tenure there: in a word, it was a “mistake.”
“I think the worst thing you can do is have a mistake and try to keep living with it going forward,” Irsay told the Indianapolis Star’s Joel A. Erickson. “For us, it was something we had to move away from as a franchise.”
While Irsay described an undesirable situation to the Star, Wentz reflected on his year with the Colts in stark contrast.
“Last year was a really fun year,” the quarterback told Colin Cowherd on Cowherd’s podcast.
Wentz admitted to the difficult season he had, but described Irsay’s comments as coming “out of left field.”
“We did some incredible things, (but) came up short at the end. Obviously, I struggled down the stretch there, and timing was poor. I didn’t expect that, I didn’t expect things to unfold the way they did, and I thought things were in a pretty good place there.
I had an awesome relationship with every single person in that building, can’t say enough good things about the people over there. (Irsay’s comment) kind of came out of left field. He’s entitled to his own opinion, and he’s entitled to do what he wants with his football team.”
Carson Wentz responds to Jim Irsay calling him a “mistake”
Irsay went even further to illustrate how problematic Wentz was in the locker room.
“In having conversations with trusted veterans on the team… in confidence, oftentimes they share really what’s happening,” Irsay said. “What I found out was very concerning,” Irsay said.
TheScore recalled what Wentz said during his introductory press conference when he joined Washington’s roster. In an effort to downplay reports that Wentz was difficult in the locker room, Wentz said the following:
“I strongly feel I had amazing relationships with people in Philly and in Indy.”
Even if Wentz did have “concerning” behavior, according to his former Colts teammates, he’s on the third roster of his NFL career as the team’s franchise quarterback. Wentz provides a puzzling contradiction: someone with locker room leadership that has been publicly questioned, yet he is chosen continuously to lead franchises.