Commander Fans Wince at QB 'Upgrade'

In the carousel of quarterback moves the NFL has seen this week the Washington Commanders settled for Carson Wentz. They reportedly made a play for Russell Wilson, but were turned away with his no trade clause. Instead Washington did the Indianapolis Colts a favor by taking the contract off their hands. A coup for general manager Chris Ballard with a cut looming.

After the Colts ended up giving up what turned into a 1st round pick, a huge mistake considering the limited market, Indy managed to get a 2nd round swap and two 3rd round picks with one possibly moving up to a 2nd rounder. Despite not giving up a 1st round pick, somehow Washington gave up valuable assets while taking on the Wentz contract despite Indy considering just cutting the veteran signal caller. Somehow this disappointing QB has still found a market and has front offices giving up valuable assets to get him on their team.

Pundits trying to argue it's a risk worth taking because of the Commanders' QB situation, ignore the very obvious. Wentz was beat out by Jalen Hurts, partially because of his contract, but also was an issue in the locker room. Wentz then moved onto Indy with his old offensive coordinator and was still a disappointment. The Colts were a lock to make the playoffs and flamed out at the end, even losing to the lowly Jaguars to miss out on the postseason. In fact, it's now reported that Frank Reich apologized to Colts ownership for vouching for the his former QB.

Indianapolis had one of the best rushing attacks, a great offensive line, a solid defense and are in a weak division, yet they missed the playoffs. Washington boasts a lot of similar things and that's apparently going to help cover up for average play. Why didn't it work in Indy when Wentz was with his old OC who vouched for him to come to the Colts? Even more condemning, while it would seem unlikely that Colts' management would have to have some plan, as of now they're without a QB and still pulled the trigger.

While we're handing out criticisms, doesn't Washington settling indicate that Matt Ryan doesn't appear to be available and the 49ers aren't making a move at this time with Jimmy G. Perhaps either team didn't like what the Commanders were offering or wanted to keep their quarterbacks out of the NFC. However, with the demand for signal callers, and the moves being made, it seems irresponsible to not have them on the block. Jimmy G has to be worth more than Wentz and Matt Ryan has to be worth at least a 1st round pick. The 49ers drafted their future QB and the key is to take advantage of a rookie contract, and the Falcons clearly need to rebuild.

The Steelers have been tied to veteran quarterbacks with no substantial rumor out there, but with their roster it seems unlikely they'll just go with Mason Rudolph or a rookie QB. The Colts are clearly in the market now as well. Could Seattle be looking for a QB to bridge the gap to whoever the next quarterback star will be? Tampa Bay would also seem to be in the same position as the Steelers, it can't be Blaine Gabbert.

The true wild cards in this QB carousel are Tom Brady and Deshaun Watson. While there isn't much to go off now besides speculation, if Watson gets activated he will be on the move, and the rumors keep saying Brady will end up in San Francisco. While neither are available now, as the market is hot teams need to take advantage while the arms race is on. Eventually the 49ers will make their move, but Atlanta continues to sit on their hands while losing and just waiting for Matt Ryan to be done. Instead they're getting nowhere and won't get anything back for the vet while the market is there now to get something substantial in return.