Hey there Colts’fans! It has been an eventful first week of training camp in the Colts Corral, eh?

Let’s start with the elephant on the table, the story which one could argue is the biggest one in the NFL this week as camps started. No, its not America’s Team on "Hard Knocks" or even the expected drama surrounding the COVID vaccine…..it is the sudden and potentially serious injury to QB Carson Wentz a few days into training camp. Let’s start with what we know for sure: It is a foot injury described as a small piece of a small bone in his foot that was surgically removed on Monday the 2^nd because it is floating around and causing pain. This to me actually sounds better than the initial description which had "Lisfranc" written all over it. In any case, the prognosis is that he will miss somewhere between 5-12 weeks of action – which sounds like a fairly wide and uncertain window to the layman, I must admit. Best case scenario, he is back the week before the opener on September 12, but that is doubtful that he could be able to start that day. Twelve weeks puts him at returning to action before the week 8 tilt vs Tennessee. All Colts’ fantasy players take a hit with this news, including the defense which might be put in lesser situations due to turnovers by a raw quarterback. The only possible exceptions might be RB Nyheim Hines and WR Parris Campbell who could get more dump-offs to get the ball out of Eason’s hands sooner and more easily.

Here’s the issue, even if Wentz comes back strong and healthy, ready to play sometime in the middle of that 5-12 week range….there is no team with a harder schedule out of the gate than Indy this year, and anything less than a full magazine really puts them behind the eight ball. After two tough home games against SEA and LAR, they travel for three straight road games to TEN, MIA and BAL (all probably playoff teams or contenders). Already a tough tow to hoe, if facing those teams with QB Jacob Eason under center and a backup left tackle, a 1-4 start is not a real stretch of the imagination. At that point, what hurry is there to bring Wentz back at anything less than 100%? It is also worth pointing out that the draft pick compensation for the Wentz trade is conditional and tied to playoff performance and snap counts; anything under 75% of the snaps being taken by Wentz, and the Colts send Philly the 2022 second round pick instead of the first rounder. So, if Wentz misses 4 games, he is already dangerously close to missing 25-30% of the season snaps before he even takes the field!

So who is going to be the guy under center until Wentz is ready? The team is saying all the right things about having confidence in young QB Jacob Eason, but he is getting his first snaps as a pro in camp this week and he has not looked sharp. His favorite target was clearly becoming LB Bobby Okereke, which is not good! There are two other young arms on the roster in 2021 draft pick QB Sam Ehlinger and undrafted QB Jalen Morton, but they are camp arms at best. The team did sign veteran QB Brett Hundley so they would have someone in camp that has actually taken a snap in an NFL game, but there is a reason he was available. As a local columnist said this week: "Wentz isn’t healthy, Eason isn’t ready and Hundley isn’t any good." Of course the obvious rumors have the Colts going after former Reich protégé QB Nick Foles, but that is not gonna happen. The Colts value draft capital too much to trade for him when the Bears are likely going to cut him anyway later in camp; Now if he gets released, that is a different story. Personally, if they want a veteran to lead the team for a while, I would consider trying to lure Alex Smith out of retirement, which is probably only slightly more likely than getting Phil Rivers back in the huddle. A dark horse that I have not seen mentioned much would be the recently-released QB Blake Bortles who could competently hold down the fort for a month or more as needed. The team is going to see where things stand after several weeks of growing pains with Eason and the rehab of Wentz before making any moves, I would bet, and then survey the landscape at that time to see what makes sense and what is needed.

One plus to take away is that prior to the injury on Thursday, Wentz was absolutely on fire for the first few days of camp and totally looked like the MVP-caliber Wentz of 2018-19, shredding a pretty good Colts’ defense. If he can get healthy and stay healthy, I have no doubts that he will play much more like that "old Wentz" than like the one we saw in the dumpster-fire that was 2020 Philadelphia.

Lost in all the Wentz drama is that the team also is still waiting desperately for their offensive line to gel and round into shape as well. Pro Bowl OC Ryan Kelly was lost to an elbow injury on the first day of camp after colliding with RB Marlon Mack. Kelly is expected to miss a few weeks and hopefully return healthy for the season opener. Meanwhile the key left tackle slot is still open as the high-profile free agent signee OT Eric Fisher is opening camp on the PUP list as he recovers from offseason Achilles tear surgery. One of the potential guys expected to hold the spot until Fisher is ready is OT Julien Davenport, but he was among the COVID sidelined players. The other is OT Sam Tevi who has been mercilessly throttled by rookie DE KwityPaye all week so far. Maybe this means that Paye is that good….or maybe this means that the left tackle spot is also going to be a glaring hole early in the season – further adding to the possible slow start. This is a big concern because the unit which is meant to be the strength of the team is looking shaky early on.

Also of concern is that the Colts have been documented as being one of the least vaccinated teams in the NFL. With the new rules and limitations on unvaccinated players, there is obviously a concern that a COVID outbreak or diagnosis could be more costly here than in other locker rooms. And the lack of cohesion with the players being so separated could also be a factor as the season wears on. A potential sign of things to come might be interpreted from the fact that numerous key players and starters have been on the COVID list already in camp and missing time, including HC Frank Reich himself! This is something to watch across the whole league, but the Colts do seem to have been dinged by it already.

Let’s finish with some good news. RT Braden Smith got a 4-year extension on his rookie deal which will keep him under team control until 2025. He will get $72.4 million with $42 million guaranteed. This is the first move to lock up that great 2018 draft class, and the second big extension along the offensive line. Next up will bedraft-class mates OG Quentin Nelson and LB Darius Leonard who will each become among the highest paid players ever at their respective positions, and Nelson’s deal will give the Colts the most expensive line in history.

That’s all for a rough week in the Crossroads of America, football-wise. I will be back after a few weeks to see how Wentz and Eason are doing and what the Colts’ fantasy forecasts are showing as camp hits its midpoints. For now, downgrade all Colts’ fantasy players a little, and the passing game a lot. Wentz is basically undraftable now except as a stash play as a 3^rd QB with limited upside week to week.

End.