Jacob Eason ‘in the driver’s seat’ for Colts QB1 job

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz will be sidelined potentially up to 12 weeks after undergoing surgery on his foot, and the starting quarterback role will fall to second-year passer Jacob Eason.

After confirming to the media Monday that Wentz will undergo surgery, head coach Frank Reich said the starting quarterback role is Eason’s to lose, stating he’s in the driver’s seat.

“The job is Jacob’s right now … and he’s gotta earn it. But he’s in the driver’s seat.” — Frank Reich on Jacob Eason with Carson Wentz out the next several weeks

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 2, 2021

A fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft, Eason took a redshirt during his rookie season learning behind Philip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett in the quarterback room. Now, without any experience in an NFL game, Eason is the most likely starter for the Colts when they open the season at home against the Seattle Seahawks.

There will likely be some competition for Eason in the room. The Colts signed veteran Brett Hundley and drafted Sam Ehlinger in the sixth round of the 2021 draft. But even Hundley only has nine starts in his career, and eight of them came in 2017.

Wentz is expected to be out on a timeline of roughly 5-12 weeks and even though the Colts will have a better idea in a few weeks what the return time looks like, Eason is likely to open the season as the starter unless his training camp and preseason are completely disastrous.

It will be interesting to see what the Colts offense looks like with Eason under center, but this will be their time to evaluate what they have in the former fourth-round pick.