The Washington Commanders announced on Monday that they are releasing quarterback Carson Wentz. The move brings Wentz’s disappointing tenure with the franchise to an end less than a year since being acquired in a trade from the Indianapolis Colts.
By moving on from Wentz, the Commanders will save around $26 million in cap space. They are also getting an additional $2.3 million in cap relief after releasing veteran safety Bobby McCain.
The Commanders traded two third-round picks pick to get Wentz last offseason, hoping they could get his career back on track and get the guy that was an MVP candidate early in his career. However, the move proved quite disappointing for both sides.
Wentz started the season in a promising fashion, throwing for 650 yards and seven touchdowns in his first two games as a Commander. However, this proved to be only temporary as the 30-year-old struggled in the next four weeks before fracturing his finger in Week 6 and landing on injured reserves. In total, the former second-overall pick finished the campaign with 1,755 passing yards, 11 TDs, and nine picks.
After ending the Wentz experiment, the Commanders are now expected to pursue a veteran quarterback like Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo on the free agent market. However, it wouldn’t be surprising that the franchise decides to give sophomore signal-caller Sam Howell a chance under center.
Wentz, on the other hand, gets a slight head start on other free-agent quarterbacks after the release. It is hard to believe he will receive another chance to start, but he will be a tempting option for teams looking at a high-end backup.
