The Commanders needed a quarterback and believe they’ve found one for the long haul with Carson Wentz.
But after Washington agreed to acquire Wentz, the quarterback was criticized on the way out of Indianapolis in much the same way he was on the way out of Philadelphia.
Zak Keefer of TheAthletic.com reported that some in the Colts building concluded that Wentz displayed, “a lack of leadership, a resistance to hard coaching, and a reckless style of play.”
But Commanders head coach Ron Rivera told reporters on Thursday that he was comfortable with bringing Wentz in after doing his own research on the quarterback.
“It was very interesting because when you talk to certain people, you talk to some of the coaches he’s had in the past that I know very well and listen to what they have to say, it was contradictory to what was happening,” Rivera said, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. “What I found very telling is when two team captains one the team that he just left came out and were dumbfounded that he was being traded, but yet had nothing but positive things to say about him, that’s more than enough as far as I’m concerned. Because the players know. If there’s one thing that happens in this league, the players know exactly what’s going on. The players know exactly who people are. You can’t fool them, I can tell you that much.”
With Rivera a former player himself, it makes sense how much stock he would put into their opinions. But Wentz still has much to prove after a second team in two years elected to move on from him — especially considering the Colts elected to wade into the unknown waters of this year’s quarterback market rather than even try a second season with the 2016 No. 2 overall pick.
Ron Rivera: Two of Carson Wentz’s former teammates were “dumbfounded” he was being traded originally appeared on Pro Football Talk