Is Ron Rivera’s Future Tied to Wentz’s Success?

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March 24, 2022

by David Earl

Overwhelmingly YES!

Three years in and, considering the assets used to acquire Carson Wentz, it is reasonable to believe this move will determine the success of the rest of Ron Rivera‘s tenure in Washington. The first year was essentially a wash, having to work with Dan Snyder’s handpicked quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who many still held out hope for as this team’s future. Whether you feel Haskins was mishandled or he was just a bust no matter what, that year was just as frustrating then as it is today through hindsight. The selection of Chase Young earlier that year was unquestionably the right move but seeing the maturation of Justin Herbert in Los Angeles has many feeling the scouting department, front office, and Ron Rivera should have known how good he would have been. That’s the unfortunate problem with hindsight – applying his current growth now to that argument is somewhat misplaced. We also forget how Tua Tagovailoa was the consensus number 2 quarterback in that draft, and he’s been slow to develop. So however you view year one, to include the improbable return of Alex Smith, Ron was immediately behind the 8-ball, and that showed during the following year. During last offseason, this organization tried and failed to trade for Matthew Stafford, and then reportedly tried to trade up for Justin Fields or Mac Jones in the draft, which again failed. Ron’s first 2 years saw big misses and mismanagement that resulted in a focus in 2022 to shore up the quarterback position.

Offseason focus

We all know what happened with the Russell Wilson trade attempt which, surprising to us all of course, boiled down to him choosing Denver over Washington. Even accepting that Aaron Rodgers was not being traded and considering what would have been a terribly tone-deaf decision to acquire Deshaun Watson amidst the train wreck of a scandal Dan brought to this organization would be, Wentz is admittedly a panic move.  At least it appears to be. Ron knew this season could not start week one with Taylor Heinicke as the undeniable starter and he’s already addressed the situation by acquiring an established veteran quarterback. So as the options were quickly dwindling and the price for a guy like Jimmy Garoppolo being presumably high, Carson Wentz became the best available option. We can assume Ron didn’t want Wentz to be a free agent and risk losing him that way – in my opinion that is the case, because why would he want to come here? With the reports of other teams inquiring about him in a potential trade making sense, it is understandable to see why Ron upped his offer to the Colts. The feelings are definitely mixed on Wentz to Washington.  Hog Sty writer Paul Francis took a good Neutral Stance on the acquisition of him via trade.

Is Ron Good Regardless Though?

This is an interesting perspective: Ron Rivera as “the made man,” and being handpicked by the Snyders to right a sinking ship. Taking a minute to step back and consider this idea makes sense in so many ways, but is also a reach at the same time. We all know about Dan’s impatience in the past and how intrusive he becomes with football decisions when the team is losing, although you’d think that he should be numb to that by now. Dan has always been very impulsive and reacts without any rationality which has resulted in continuous disaster after disaster for over 2 decades, so why would he change? What is the potential motivation to remain behind the scenes and allow Ron to drive this car? Obviously, we are witnessing that motivation today through multiple scandals and a workplace environment that has made many women uncomfortable for far too long. While the pressure continues to mount, especially losing multiple sponsorships, Dan is backed into a corner and completely alone. He’s lost his inner circle and, with nowhere else to turn, Ron and Jason Wright are the only 2 people he can trust. Knowing Dan as we all do, once you’ve gotten Dan’s trust you will get 10 years of employment regardless of how bad you were at your job (see Bruce Allen). The point here is Dan cannot afford to lose any form of security right now and Ron provides him just that going forward which is actually healthy for this organization from a cultural standpoint. Although Dan’s presence in the building will make it difficult to lure in the high-profile free agents, Ron and his character will go a long way to flipping that script. So is him being labeled the “made man” a reach? Maybe, but there is definitely credence to this idea too and, from a cultural standpoint, we fans can only hope that would be the case, especially if Dan is not removed as owner.

Back to Wentz

I won’t say that Carson Wentz is a prototypical leader of men on the field or locker room, nor is he mentally strong, as his reactions to Philadelphia drafting Jalen Hurts and his complaints after them winning the championship with Nick Foles are not some of his shining moments. Is this narrative of him being a bad teammate truly real and if he was absolutely uncoachable are we sure Ron trades for him when he released Haskins for these issues? As there are always 3 sides to every story it stands to reason some (or most) reports were manufactured by his former teams.  We watched Bruce Allen do just that for more than a decade. I mean, step back and read about the statements of Carson’s former teammates praising him all the way back to Philly and most were done without a reporter’s mic in their face. These players went out of their way to make unabated remarks about Carson being a great leader on and off the field plus how his presence made them a better person. For me, it boils down to the fact that Wentz is the best quarterback the team has had since Kirk Cousins and he was just not the toxic liability in the locker room some of these “sources” claim him to be. Whereas, how Ron’s future is tied to Wentz’s success is definitely the case in my view but I also feel this is Ron’s direction too. If they can get Wentz back to his 2019 form (2017 being the upside ceiling), although last season wasn’t terrible up to the last couple of games, they will not only be better for it but Scott Turner‘s offense will no longer be limited to the strengths of Taylor Heinicke. This trade may have been a panic move and those with a pessimistic view are absolutely warranted, but it was a move that truly became necessary for Ron and a gamble Riverboat Ron hopes he will not bust on to. Personally, I hope we get a Wentz somewhere in the middle of his 2017 and 2019 performance becoming this organization’s franchise guy for the next 10 years. Yes, it may be a pipe dream, but the law of averages tells you this quarterback situation has to eventually work out for this team. Why can’t it be Wentz?