It was revealed Monday that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz will undergo surgery to repair a loose bone fragment, and head coach Frank Reich said that was really the only option.
Though there was a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who doubled down on the notion that Wentz would rest and rehab before getting surgery, Reich told the media on Monday that was never really an option for the Colts and their new quarterback.
“Never really got that close to that option,” said Reich on Monday.
Wentz underwent surgery on Monday in Indianapolis with Dr. Dave Porter conducting the procedure. The timeline for return is a bit murky as Reich gave a broad stretch of 5-12 weeks.
When it came to deciding between immediate surgery and potentially rest and rehab without having to go under the knife, Reich said the former option was the leading discussion from the beginning.
“We thought surgery was the best right from the start after that initial discussion with both doctors. The reason obviously is if we don’t, if we rehab, it’s going to be fine in a couple weeks but if it creeps up in the middle of the season, then you’re out for 5-12 weeks. That’s not going to work,” Reich said. “Let’s use the front end and hope for the best. We’ve got a good roster. If he has to miss a game or two, we’ll be fine.”
In the meantime, the Colts will turn to second-year quarterback Jacob Eason as the starting quarterback. It will be a learning curve for Eason, who is essentially being thrown into the fire after an entire rookie season of sitting.
How long Eason will be taking the reins is pretty unknown. Reich said the team will know more about Wentz’s return timeline more after a few weeks following surgery.
“I think generally speaking what I heard, what I heard was in that two-to-three-to-four-week area, we’ll start to get a sense,” Reich said. “In the first two weeks after the surgery it’s pretty much do nothing, just let it do it’s deal and then when we really start into the rehab after two weeks, in the next week or two we should start to gain more of a timeframe for a return.”
The Colts will be in a limbo of sorts when it comes to their season outlook until we know for sure what the timeline looks like for Wentz, but it seems surgery was always the top option from the jump.
