With the 122nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts selected quarterback Jacob Eason from Washington. The expectation was while he may not ever be a full season starting quarterback in the league he could at least develop into a serviceable backup for years to come. Fast-forward to September 2021 and Eason has lost the backup role to 28-year old journeyman Brett Hundley. It’s a shocking downfall for Eason, who as recently as the start of training camp looked to be in line to start games as Carson Wentz quickly found himself with a foot injury that required surgery and a stay on the close contact list due to the league’s COVID protocols. On top of that, Eason’s competition, Sam Ehlinger, who the Colts drafted in the 6th round of the 2021 NFL Draft, suffered a sprained ACL that all but assured Eason the backup role.
Clearly, something has drastically changed since then.
The Colts had more confidence in a banged up Carson Wentz than they had in a fully healthy Jacob Eason, who had been in their system for over a year. Furthermore, they had more confidence in Brett Hundley in case Wentz was unable to finish the game. Frank Reich said Hundley’s “experience” gave him the edge but Hundley hasn’t played a meaningful game since Week 16 of the 2019 season when he was with the Arizona Cardinals. Evidentially, what the Colts have seen out of Eason in practice has shattered their confidence in him being a capable backup as they named Hundley the No. 2 QB once again on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. It was a debate Kevin Bowen and Jake Query had on Wednesday’s Fan Morning Show:
“I don’t understand why is Jacob Eason out there Week 1 and 2 and all of a sudden Brett Hundley has more experience? It doesn’t make sense.” – Kevin Bowen
“You have a situation where you’ve got to go to a backup quarterback and you can’t because you’ve determined the backup quarterback you have is not good enough to be trusted to take snaps. If he’s not ready to go now, then why is he on the roster?” – Jake Query
What’s the future of Jacob Eason and does he even have a spot on the roster once Sam Ehlinger is fully cleared from his sprained ACL? It’s a situation worth monitoring considering the draft capital used to select Eason and determining he may be a complete non-factor on the team less than 18 months later.
For all the latest with the Colts, be sure to listen to the Fan Morning Show with Kevin Bowen weekdays from 7-10am on 93.5 and 107.5 The Fan!
