Nick Foles and Gardner Minshew Are Colts' Best Options to Replace Carson Wentz

The Indianapolis Colts will be without starting quarterback Carson Wentz for between five to 12 weeks as he's set for foot surgery. 2020 fourth-round pick Jacob Eason is the placeholder under center for now, but the Colts desperately need to find a veteran to fill Wentz's shoes for the early part of the season. A few guys make sense.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport suggested two options today and they're the obvious, top candidates. Nick Foles and Gardner Minshew make the most sense for the Colts.

Foles could be on the outs with the Chicago Bears as both Justin Fields and Andy Dalton are both above him on the depth chart. He's got no future with the franchise. Foles has played nine seasons for five different franchises, including two different stints with the Eagles. He led Philadelphia to a win in Super Bowl LII, but hasn't really found success since. He's like a perfectly fine fill-in, though. He also worked with Colts head coach Frank Reich in Philly during the 2017 season.

Foles has a career completion percentage of 62.3, has averaged 6.8 yards per attempt and has a career passer rating of 87.1. He's not going to win the Colts a title, but could hold down the fort until Wentz is ready to go.

The other option is Minshew, who is done in Jacksonville as a starter after the Jaguars drafted Trevor Lawrence. Despite no longer sporting his famous mullet, there are appealing aspects of Minshew's game. in 2020, he completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 2,259 yards (6.9 yards per attempt), for 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. He finished the season with a passer rating of 95.9. He was actually pretty good considering how bad the team was around him.

Foles and Minshew are the best options for the Colts right now and both can be had relatively cheaply. They should move quickly to secure one of them and ready themselves for life without Wentz for a while.