Carson Wentz News

The Washington Commanders announced Monday that they have released quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz will enter free agency for the first time in his career after a disappointing season with the Commanders, who traded second- and third-round picks to the Colts for the veteran and a later second-round pick just one offseason ago. Wentz could still find a starting job with a new team by the end of the offseason, but teams will certainly investigate options like Derek Carr (a free agent) and Aaron Rodgers before committing to Wentz. The team already declared that 2022 fifth-round pick Sam Howell will be their starting quarterback for the 2023 season, but the Commanders could be among the teams looking to land a new quarterback in the NFL Draft. Wentz threw seven touchdowns in the Commanders' first two games in 2022, but finished his final six games with the team by only throwing four more afterwards. Injuries played a part in his poor performance down the stretch in Washington, but the former Eagles and Colts quarterback was unable to outplay teammates like Taylor Heinicke and Sam Howell.

As expected, Wentz has been let go to save over $26 million in cap space before his roster bonus triggered March 17. The veteran quarterback was traded to Washington ahead of the 2022 campaign, but after two solid outings to start the season, he completed just 60.8 percent of his passes over his next six appearances and threw six interceptions to just four touchdowns during that stretch. There's plenty of teams in need of a starting quarterback, but Wentz's recent track record may force him to settle for a backup gig in 2023. If he joins a new team this summer, it'll mark his fourth squad in as many years.

Wentz presumably needs to accept a pay cut to have any chance at returning, as he's scheduled for a non-guaranteed $20 million base salary in 2023 and has a $5 million roster bonus due March 17, per Spotrac. Having traded for Wentz last offseason, the Commanders can get out of his contract without any dead-cap charge after he went 2-5 as a starter and finished bottom five among qualified passers for YPA (6.0), INT rate (3.3 percent), passer rating (80.2) and QBR (32.7). It was a bad enough season that he may only be in the mix for backup jobs in 2023.

While Wentz is inactive, rookie Sam Howell is slated to start Sunday's contest, with Taylor Heinicke in line to serve as the team's No. 2 QB in Week 18.

Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz will likely be inactive Week 18 against the Dallas Cowboys. Wentz stepped back into the starting role last week over Taylor Heinicke, but he only completed 16 of 28 attempts for 143 yards and 3 interceptions as the Commanders were eliminated from playoff contention. Heinicke is expected to start on Sunday and fifth-round rookie Sam Howell is also slated to play. Wentz doesn't have any guaranteed money on his contract after this season. Among the 44 quarterbacks with at least 100 drop backs this season, Wentz is 32nd and Heinicke is 31st in Passing Net Expected Points per attempt (negative-0.02). The Cowboys have the No. 5 pass defense and No. 3 overall defense in numberFire's season-long adjusted team rankings. Dallas is also allowing the seventh-fewest FanDuel points per game to the quarterback position this season.

After impressing in relief of a struggling Heinicke in the Commanders' Week 16 loss to the 49ers, Wentz reclaimed the starting gig Week 17. In his first start since Week 6, Wentz fared poorly in a 24-10 loss to the Browns, completing just 16 of 28 attempts for 143 yards and three interceptions while adding a touchdown on the ground as the 7-8-1 Commanders saw their playoff hopes disappear. With little at stake in the finale, head coach Ron Rivera appears prepared to go back to Heinicke under center while also getting a first glimpse at Howell, who has yet to make his NFL debut. Wentz, meanwhile, may have played his last snap for the Commanders. He's under contract through 2024 but has no guaranteed money on his deal beyond the 2022 season, making him a possible cut candidate this offseason.