MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Report: Carson Wentz will rest, will not have immediate surgery



The big question in Indianapolis is when quarterback Carson Wentz will be able to get back on the field after suffering a foot injury and the answer may not be known for a while.

Word from the team on Saturday was that there’s no timetable and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the initial treatment plan won’t bring one into focus for a bit.

Rapoport reports that Wentz is going to rest his foot and do other rehab work over the next few days rather than have surgery. If all goes well, Wentz could be able to play in the season opener. If not, surgery will be back on the table and an operation is expected to keep him out for the start of the regular season.

The ultimate answer to the question of Wentz’s return date will be of interest to the Eagles as well. If he plays 75 percent of the offensive snaps this year or 70 percent while piloting the Colts to the playoffs, the Eagles get a first-round pick in 2022. If not, a second-rounder goes to Philadelphia.

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Carson Wentz needs to have surgery so that the Colts will take Foles from Chicago. I read some rampant, overreacting speculation about it and now it MUST COME TRUE.

 

***BREAKING***

Carson Wentz to undergo foot surgery, out 5-12 weeks



As of Sunday afternoon, reports out of Indianapolis were that quarterback Carson Wentz would not have immediate surgery and would instead try to rehab his foot to get it better.

But those plans have changed.

Colts head coach Frank Reich told reporters on Monday that Wentz will have surgery later in the afternoon. The issue is with Wentz’s left foot and Reich said that it stems from a previous foot injury. According to Reich, the surgery will be to remove a piece of bone from Wentz’s foot that became loose and caused pain.

Reich said the timetable on Wentz’s return is a very wide 5-12 weeks. The Colts will know more about the timetable following the surgery.

The head coach added that the team was not that close to having Wentz simply rehab the injury, in part because it could come back midseason and take him out for the rest of it.

If Wentz is out for as many as 12 weeks, that could have significant implications on the conditions for the trade that sent the QB to Indianapolis. The Eagles are slated to receive a Colts first-round pick if Wentz plays 75 percent of the team’s 2021 offensive snaps, or 70 percent if the Colts make the playoffs. Otherwise, Philadelphia will receive a 2022 second-round pick to complete the deal.

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Frank Reich: Jacob Eason is “in the driver’s seat” to start with Carson Wentz out

With quarterback Carson Wentz potentially out for 12 weeks after undergoing foot surgery, the Colts have to figure out who is going to replace him.

At least for now, the answer appears to be already on their roster in Jacob Eason.

Indianapolis selected the former Georgia and Washington quarterback in the fourth round of last year’s draft. Eason was the team’s third quarterback throughout last season behind Philip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett.

“The job is Jacob’s right now … and he’s gotta earn it,” Reich said, via Zak Keefer of TheAthletic.com. “But he’s in the driver’s seat.”

Because there were no preseason games last year, Eason hasn’t played since Washington’s victory over Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl back on Dec. 21, 2019. If he does end up as the Colts’ starter to enter the season, he’ll likely get some significant playing time in the preseason.

Indianapolis recently signed Brett Hundley as another option at quarterback. The club also has Sam Ehlinger and Jalen Morton at the position.

Or the Colts could go the trade route to acquire a veteran QB that can help the team compete immediately. Chicago’s Nick Foles would seem to be a strong candidate, as Foles won Super Bowl LII with Reich as Eagles offensive coordinator back in 2017. Of course, Foles also replaced Wentz that season after the quarterback tore his ACL.

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There goes the colts season

 

Clicking my heels three times and wishing...

 

That’s giving Wentz a lot of credit.

 

It would make a lot of sense. It's going to be the Dalton/Fields show in Chicago. Foles worth may not be any bigger than now, with a team in desperate need if they want to salvage the season. Jacob Eason will lose you more games than he will win you games. Foles who has a track record is a better bet to salvage wins while waiting for Wentz to return.

 

You also have the Frank Reich connection. Frank was the offensive coordinator in Philly when Foles took over. Foles even has said himself ; he wouldnt mind a reunion with Reich, but for now he is a Bear.

 

I will personally pay for the flight, train, uber, or horse and buggy that transports Foles to Indy.

 

Dolphins teammates see more confident, improved Tua Tagovailoa

The Miami Dolphins put all their eggs in the Tua Tagovailoa basket this offseason, believing the former Alabama quarterback will make a massive Year 2 leap on an otherwise playoff-caliber roster.

While offseason practices have brought ups and downs, Dolphins' teammates have seen a much more confident QB than his rookie campaign.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald surveyed Miami players about the starting signal-caller, and each pointed to increased assurance and chance-taking as what should help Tua improve in his second season.

"He's always had accuracy. That was never a problem," safety Eric Rowe said. "He always had the zip, always had the power. I just believe it's that year-two jump that everyone needs to make from their rookie year. And obviously the type of offense. Last year, I even noticed his playbook was condensed to slants and bubbles. They really wouldn't let him show his arm. Now seeing training camp, a lot more deep routes, they're allowing him the opportunity to throw it deep. That's what we need.

"Tua is making that jump. I see each day he's getting better from the first day. Opposing defenses can't just double one guy and be like everybody else is covered"

Tight end Durham Smythe underscored that teammates and coaches see a more confident QB.

"It just seems like confidence," Smythe said. "That's a big thing for year-one to year-two players. He understands the offense, yada, yada, has got a great arm. Everyone says that. Everyone knows that. But confidence year one to year two, that's big. If he continues to develop that, the sky's the limit."


Tagovailoa's five-INT practice in June caught headlines but was part of the process for the Dolphins QB to figure out just how aggressive he can be. According to reports at Dolphins camp, Tua has impressed and hasn't tossed an INT in four straight practices as of Monday.

Miami is counting on Tagovailoa carrying over that confidence and playmaking when the games actually matter.

NFL.com

 

The colts went into this with Wentz as their only real option at QB. They are built to win now with an experienced QB. So yes their season is pretty much screwed now

 

Dak is out for the Cowboys... he will not play in the, Hall of Fame game.


What a wuss!


jk

 

Starters aren’t playing in the HOF game

 

With Wentz’s injury history that was a dangerous line of thinking. I’m sure the drop in the salary cap played a sizable role in that though. 5-12 weeks is a huge range, could be back for opening week or miss the first quarter+ of the season.

 

Dwayne Haskins has been “surprisingly good” in Steelers camp



When it’s time to replace Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers may not have to look far for his replacement. His replacement may already be on the roster.

Mark Kaboly of TheAthletic.com writes that Dwayne Haskins has been “surprisingly good” in practice. Kaboly adds that Haskins has been the team’s “best play-action passer,” and that his accuracy and decision-making have been good.

Haskins, the fifteenth overall pick in the 2019 draft, washed out of Washington during his second season. But he wasn’t a reach in the middle of round one. If not Washington, someone else would have taken him on the first night of the draft.

So the Steelers got him at a bargain-basement rate, and they may end up grooming him into a competent option to Roethlisberger.

In two nights, Haskins will replace Mason Rudolph in the Hall of Fame game. It will be the former Buckeye’s chance to try to wrest the No. 2 job from Rudolph, a career backup who seemingly has plateaued.

“He’s grown by leaps and bounds,” coach Mike Tomlin said regarding Haskins. “He does a good job of communicating with coaches, with players, gaining an understanding of what we’re trying to do schematically and his role in it, gaining a rapport with the receivers specifically, trying to do the things that we want him to do in the drill work that we do. We’ve made an emphasis that drill work is football-like, but not necessarily football, and so we have certain things that we emphasize under those circumstances. I think he’s done a nice job of that. I think a lot of guys have.”

Haskins had only one season as a starter in college before landing with the inherently dysfunctional Washington Football Team. His skills mirrored in many respects those of Roethlisberger. While not a threat to tuck the ball and run, Haskins has the mobility and the agility to extend the play behind the line of scrimmage.

So maybe the Steelers have found their next starter on the scrap heap. And maybe that will partially atone for the time when they had Johnny Unitas under contract, and decided he wasn’t good enough.

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New York Jets sign journeyman QB Josh Johnson

The New York Jets added a veteran signal-caller to their young quarterback room.

Gang Green signed Josh Johnson, the quarterback's agent Doug Hendrickson announced. The team later confirmed the news.

The 35-year-old last played an NFL regular-season game in 2018 with Washington. A former fifth-round pick in 2008 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Johnson spent time in 2020 on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad after playing in the XFL. Johnson has bounced around the NFL, changing teams 17 times since entering the league. He previously was on the Jets roster for 10 days in 2015.

The journeyman quarterback joins a youthful Jets QB room led by first-round rookie Zach Wilson, 2020 fourth-rounder James Morgan and 26-year-old Mike White. Johnson brings a needed veteran presence to New York to help tutor Wilson on the field and in the film room.

In a corresponding move, the Jets waived linebacker Brendon White.

NFL.com

 

Tua Tagovailoa “very comfortable” with Dolphins’ offense



Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has, by all accounts, had a strong training camp. And he credits a strong offseason for that.

Although many questions were raised about the Dolphins’ offense early this offseason, when Chan Gailey exited as offensive coordinator and was replaced by co-coordinators Eric Studesville and George Godsey, Tagovailoa says the offseason was a good one.

Tagovailoa pronounced himself “very comfortable” with the offense and added that “being able to get with the guys throughout the offseason has helped me tremendously,” according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Still, Tagovailoa isn’t celebrating his strong training camp performance.

“I’m not looking at the things I do right, but most of the things I don’t do right. It will keep coming back to that,” he said.

The Dolphins are all-in on Tagovailoa as their franchise quarterback for both the present and the future. They have to be pleased with what they’re seeing right now.

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