With Carson Wentz undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone keeping him sidelined for the next 5-12 weeks, the Indianapolis Colts are going to have to decide a replacement at quarterback. Though the Colts do have 4 QBs besides Wentz on their active roster, none figure to be equipped to go under center and lead Indy to a hot start to the season in a year where they hope to be contenders.
However, a new contender for the starting job in Week 1, Las Vegas Raiders QB Marcus Mariota, has emerged, according to Betonline. The odds on favorites to start at QB for the Colts as the regular season begins is:
Odds on who starts for the Colts in Week 1 (via @betonline_ag):
Jacob Eason (-125)
Nick Foles (+300)
Brett Hundley (+500)
Sam Ehlinger (+550)
Marcus Mariota (+600)
Philip Rivers (+1000)
Cam Newton (+1200)
Jimmy Garoppolo (+1200)— Jaime Eisner (@JaimeEisner) August 3, 2021
The move would certainly make sense for the Colts, as Mariota's abilities to make dynamic plays as a dual-threat player are optimal for a backup quarterback. He's got a great pedigree, with 3 playoff wins under his belt, and showed last year in a 27-30 loss to the Chargers that he's capable of leading even an average offense to high point totals.
Much to Colts' fans dismay, however, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that the Colts aren’t looking to trade for a QB to replace Wentz at the present time.
The Colts are not trading for Foles, Minshew or Mariota at this time.
Carson Wentz begins rehabbing his foot after two weeks.
He hasn't been ruled out week 1 but it's optimistic.
If this relatively safe surgery & rehab gets complicated, then another vet QB will be considered.— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) August 2, 2021
Additionally, Vinny Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported another good point – the Raiders may not want to deal Mariota to Indy, given that the Colts might very well be competing with Las Vegas for a wild-card spot in the upcoming season.
Re: @Raiders Marcus Mariota as a potential trade target for @Colts: If you’re the Raiders, why would you consider helping a team you might have to deal with in Wild Card chase?
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) August 3, 2021
It all depends on how much the Colts are willing to give up to acquire a guy whose role figures to simply be a stopgap until Carson Wentz is recovered from his injury and on the field by game-time. They certainly have the talent on both sides of the ball to compete for, at minimum, a deep playoff run this year.
Though Wentz has been inconsistent throughout his career, his talent is inarguable, as evidenced by his 2018 season, as he was the front-runner for league MVP until – you guessed it – an injury cut his season short. None of the backups on the Colts roster can replace that kind of firepower that Wentz has, but Mariota could definitely come close.