Buried deep in the bombshell ESPN story alleging that Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder is claiming to have “dirt” on fellow NFL owners that he is using as leverage to maintain his status is a football-related item involving QB Carson Wentz.
Snyder, according to the report, was the one who pulled the trigger on Wentz, authorizing the deal to acquire the former first-round pick from Indianapolis for a second- and two third-round picks.
Head coach Ron Rivera insists that he sold Snyder on Wentz, who had put up good counting numbers in his one year in Indy – 3,563 yards, 27 TDs, 7 INTs, a 94.6 passer rating and a 60.6 QBR for a Colts team that narrowly missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record – and doubled down on that when pressed by reporters following Washington’s 12-7 win over the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football.
“Everybody keeps saying I didn’t want anything to do with Carson, well, bulls—,” Rivera said. “I’m the f—ing guy that pulled out the sheets of paper, looked at the analytics, watched the tape when we were at Indianapolis, OK? And that’s what pisses me off, ’cause the young man doesn’t deserve to have that all the time.”
Rather forceful there.
Rivera had gemmed up controversy in the locker room on Monday when he answered a reporter’s question on what the difference was between Washington, which had lost four straight heading into this week, and the rest of the NFC East – with Philadelphia at 5-0 and the New York Giants and Dallas both at 4-1 – and his one-word answer was: “quarterback.”
The coach then clarified on Tuesday that what he’d meant to convey was that Wentz was still getting acclimated to the Commanders’ offensive scheme, but there’s no denying that the offense has struggled – ranking 25th in total offense (320.3 yards per game) and 27th in scoring (17.0 points per game), with Wentz ranking 21st in passing efficiency (84.1) and 25th in QBR (35.0).
Wentz, informed of Rivera’s comments after the win over the Bears, in which he was a modest 12-of-22 passing for 99 yards, as the Commanders gained just 214 total yards, said his coach is “awesome” for sticking up for him.
“I’ve got a ton of respect for him, playing in this league for a while from afar, and getting to play for him is even better,” Wentz said. “He speaks his mind and he’ll be direct and to the point, and in this business that means a lot. Guys love that about him, and he’s going to be straight up and very motivational. Guys respond to him very well. I’m appreciative of him.”
Rivera would prefer to talk about on-the-field stuff, for the record, though the situation with Snyder and the league isn’t going away anytime soon.
“I’m trying to get beyond all the stuff that’s on the outside as far as noise,” Rivera said. “What I’m focusing on is the development of this team. I don’t want to get talking about something that I can’t control. I have no input, I have nothing to do with that; what I want to do is everything in that room. And that’s what I just wish we could stay focused on. It’s difficult, it’s hard, but for whatever reason, we’re going to stick to what’s interesting and that’s playing football.”
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Chris Graham
