Beyond starting QB questions, Colts must decide if Sam Ehlinger is ready to be backup

INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts face more than one question at quarterback heading into the 2022 offseason.

The biggest question is at starting quarterback. None of the key decision-makers in Indianapolis have committed to bringing back Carson Wentz as the starter after the passing game cratered in the second half of the season, and the last time that happened, Indianapolis made a bold move at the position.

But the Colts must also decide if they’re comfortable with the competition for the backup job after an unsettled situation dominated the week Wentz spent rehabilitating sprains in both ankles he suffered against Los Angeles.

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For the second straight offseason, Indianapolis has a young, third-day draft pick heading into his second season in the NFL.

Former fourth-round pick Jacob Eason couldn’t take advantage of that opportunity, and now he’s in Seattle.

Sixth-round pick Sam Ehlinger might have the same opportunity this offseason.

“We like Sam,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. “We think he’s definitely a guy that’s made of all the right stuff.”

Ehlinger is already ahead of Eason’s timetable.

For starters, he has an entire training camp and preseason under his belt. When Wentz was forced to have surgery at the end of July, Ehlinger forced his way into an even battle with Eason for the backup job, earning valuable experience.

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Ehlinger threw nearly 200 passes in 11-on-11 drills, played with the first-team offense in roughly a third of the practices and started the second preseason game. Because of that experience, the Colts already know that Ehlinger has something they couldn’t count on with Eason — an encyclopedic, intuitive understanding of the offense, a critical skill for a backup.

What the Colts do not know is whether Ehlinger’s smarts can overcome some of his physical disadvantages when he’s forced into live action. Ehlinger completed 67.7 percent of his passes and averaged 9.3 yards per attempt in the preseason, but he also threw three interceptions in 31 attempts, in part because his arm couldn’t always make the throw he saw in his mind.

“Whether he’s good enough, we’ve still got to find out,” Ballard said.

If Ehlinger isn’t ready to start in a pinch, the Colts might need to add a veteran capable of filling in if something happens to whoever the starter ends up being. Indianapolis signed another former 2020 fourth-round pick, James Morgan, late in the season, but at this point, the Colts are simply taking a flyer on the possibility that Morgan develops into something more than he’s been in the NFL to this point.

Up until last season, Ballard and Colts head coach Frank Reich have always preached the virtues of having an excellent backup quarterback on the roster, but they did not have a proven backup in 2021.

The Colts did have a veteran they liked.

“(Brett) Hundley was a little bit of a surprise,” Ballard said. “When we got him in here, we just thought his skill set fit well as the backup, because he can run and create, and he’s an unbelievable pro. Every day he is in the building, working, studying, he was really great for the group.”

But Hundley is far from a proven backup, and he’ll be a free agent this offseason.

Hundley faltered in his only extended stint as a temporary starter with Green Bay in 2017, and he’s bounced around the NFL since then — he was available at the beginning of training camp.

There will likely be veteran quarterbacks available in free agency with better resumes as backups than either Ehlinger or Hundley.

Indianapolis has to decide if it wants to pursue one of those players.

Or count on the guys they had this season.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts 'still' have 'to find out' if Sam Ehlinger can be primary backup