Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz and guard Quenton Nelson are trending toward recovering from foot surgeries in time for next month’s regular-season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, sources told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.
The Colts announced last week that Wentz and Nelson would be sidelined five to 12 weeks after operations to repair the same foot injury.
Wentz, who had surgery Aug. 2, will start his rehab next week but was at the Colts’ training camp practice Tuesday without a walking boot and without limping.
The Colts hope to have a better indication of both players’ rehabilitation status once they are two weeks post-surgery.
With Wentz out, sixth-round rookie Sam Ehlinger has split the first-team practice snaps with Jacob Eason and will continue to do so in Thursday and Friday’s joint practices with the Carolina Panthers.
Eason had been considered in the lead to start if Wentz did not recover in time to face the Seahawks, but coach Frank Reich referred to Eason as the starter “right now” multiple times after Saturday’s practice.
How much Wentz plays in 2021 will affect the Colts’ compensation in their trade for the quarterback. The Colts gave the Philadelphia Eagles a conditional 2022 second-round pick that could become a first-rounder if Wentz either plays at least 75% of Indianapolis’ offensive snaps or plays 70% of the snaps and the team reaches the playoffs.
Nelson, who underwent surgery Aug. 3, has been an All-Pro in each of his three NFL seasons while starting all 48 regular-season games and three playoff games.
Information from ESPN’s Mike Wells was used in this report.