Colts QB Wentz removed from COVID list, returns to practice
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Blue sky. Low humidity. The return of quarterback Carson Wentz.
On Thursday, picture-perfect conditions awaited the Colts for their afternoon practice session.
September is here, thankfully, after a turbulent August of surgeries and COVID-19 issues that hampered Frank Reich’s ability to mesh his offense into the unit he envisions.
On Thursday, Wentz, center Ryan Kelly and wide receiver Zach Pascal were placed back on the active roster following “close contact” tracing that linked to a team staffer who tested positive for COVID-19 this past week.
The NFL mandates unvaccinated players to quarantine for five days in a close contact situation. Vaccinated players are not required to miss any time.
Wentz met with the media after practice and addressed why he remains unvaccinated.
“Trust me, it is a personal decision,” Wentz said. “I’m not going to go into depth on why but I will say it’s a personal decision for me and my family. I respect everybody else’s decision and I just ask that everybody does the same for me. I know that’s not the world we live in, not everyone is going to equally view things the same but yeah, no one really knows what’s going on in someone else’s household and how things are being handled. It’s a personal decision. That’s just where I’m at on it and with the protocols and everything the way they are, really for us, it’s about understanding them clearly and making sure that we are dotting our I’s and crossing our T’s. All of those things so that we can avoid what happened this week with a couple of us.”
Wentz went on to share that his decision whether to get the vaccine remains “fluid” and it is one that “keeps me up at night.”
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For now, Wentz and pro bowl linebacker Darius Leonard are two of at least a handful of key Colts who have elected to remain unvaccinated.
“Trust me, I’ve weighed a lot of things,” Wentz said. “I’ve factored in everything and I know what’s at stake. I know all those things and like I said, it’s where I’m at, where I’m at with my family and that’s why – just understanding the protocol. To truly try everything we can to avoid what happened this week. It is what it is whether we agree or not with the protocol and the rules, they’re in place. So we have to honor them as best as we can so we can avoid what happened.”
For Leonard, his reasoning behind being unvaccinated is due to long-term concerns that the 26-year-old still feels he needs answers.
“I think that’s a personal decision of mine, Leonard said. “I’m just a down south guy. I want to see more. I want to learn more. I want to get more educated about it. I’ve just got to think about it. I just don’t want to rush into it. I’ve got to see everything. I’m listening to all the vaccinated guys here. I’m not pro-vax or anti-vax. I’ve got to learn. When you don’t know a lot about something, you’ve got to educate yourself more about it and you’ve got to figure out what it is and you’ve got to make a decision from there.”
On the field, barring a setback, Wentz appears ready to start the season opener one week from Sunday against Seattle at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Thursday marked Wentz’s first fully padded 11-on-11 work since the Aug. 2 surgery to remove a loose bone fragment in his left foot.
“It felt great to finally get out there in full pads,” Wentz said. “Obviously, I was hoping a little earlier this week, but things happen. Felt good to get out there finally with the guys, really, mostly a full squad upfront and everything. Some mistakes, some things to clean up and all that, but I thought it was fun to get out there finally and start getting dialed in for Seattle.”
Frank Reich listed Wentz as “limited” on Thursday, with second-year pro Jacob Eason taking the remainder of the first-team reps.
Reich gave the Colts a three-day weekend beginning on Friday to “recharge” ahead of the grueling 17 game season ahead.
Following practice on Thursday, Reich laid out his plan for Wentz’s week of preparation ahead.
“I think it’s generally safe to say that if we come in here and Carson (Wentz) is taking most of the reps on Wednesday, the intention is that he’s going to play,” Reich said. “The only thing that would inhibit that is if all of a sudden Thursday there is some sort of setback. We’ve got to wait and see. Obviously as we said, this last week was a setback to us. We didn’t get the chance for him to get the work that we needed to see. Whatever, you deal with it and you move on. The good news is that if something crazy like that happened and Jacob (Eason) had to step in, he’s gotten a ton of reps.”
The Colts officially placed T.Y. Hilton on IR (to return) following neck surgery. With no timetable on Hilton’s return, Wentz turns to a young stable of wide receivers led by Michael Pittman Jr.
Elsewhere, defensive end Kemoko Turay and offensive lineman Danny Pinter remained sidelined with injuries on Thursday.