Indianapolis Colts News & Rumors

7:45pm: As Holder reports, Wentz was at practice today with no protection on his foot and no obvious limp. Reich called Wentz’s outlook “very encouraging,” and regardless of how the Ehlinger/Eason battle plays out, it doesn’t sound like either young passer will be holding the reins too long.

12:32pm: The Colts have thus far opted against acquiring a veteran to run their offense while Carson Wentz rehabs, and the team will begin giving rookie Sam Ehlinger a longer look to fill the post.

Ehlinger has worked his way into the mix here, with Frank Reich indicating Tuesday (via The Athletic’s Stephen Holder, on Twitter) the sixth-round pick has looked good enough in practice to split first-team reps with Jacob Eason. Eason will start the Colts’ first preseason game, but Reich adds (via ESPN.com’s Mike Wells, on Twitter) the second-year QB and Ehlinger will split starter reps in the team’s joint practices against the Panthers on Thursday and Friday.

While Ehlinger has outplayed Eason during Colts camp, this does mark a bit of a change from the team’s view of its current quarterback situation. Reich said last week Eason would remain in the driver’s seat for the role, despite Ehlinger impressing early. Now, the two appear to be in a true competition.

A four-year starter at Texas, Ehlinger was the 10th quarterback off the board this year. The No. 218 overall pick does bring considerably more game work than Eason, who transferred from Georgia to Washington but declared for the draft after one season as the Huskies’ starter. Ehlinger threw 1,476 passes with the Longhorns. Eason, Georgia’s primary starter in 2016, attempted 782 in college. The latter, however, was viewed slightly better through an NFL lens and became a 2020 fourth-round pick. Eason has yet to take a snap in a game, with the COVID-19 pandemic nixing last year’s preseason slate and Philip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett ahead of him on Indy’s 2020 depth chart.

This year’s Colts QB hierarchy may involve Wentz in the not-too-distant future. Initially given a vague five- to 12-week timetable to recover from foot surgery, Wentz will be re-evaluated in two weeks, per Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, who adds the Colts are expecting him to return on the front end of this timetable (video link). As of now, the team envisions its preferred starter to be back early in the season.

The Colts could stash Wentz on IR to start the year, carrying him onto their 53-man roster and parking him on the injured list for at least three weeks. However, Wentz hitting the front end of his rehab timetable would likely induce the Colts to keep him on their active roster and play this week-to-week.