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UPDATE: Some good news here for Colts fans, as it appears Wentz has not tested positive for COVID-19. That means he is a close contact and will only need to miss five days as long as he continues to have negative tests and is asymptomatic.
The three players the #Colts placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list today -- QB Carson Wentz, WR Zach Pascal and C Ryan Kelly -- are all close contacts with a staff member who tested positive, per source. Back in five days as long as they remain negative and asymptomatic.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 30, 2021
Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, per the team. Center Ryan Kelly and wide receiver Zach Pascal have also been placed on the list. Wentz is currently recovering from foot surgery and was scheduled to return to full practice this week. He has been getting in limited work and was on course to start the season.
At this time we don’t know if Wentz is vaccinated or not. When asked, the quarterback has declined to answer.
Let's get this out of the way: Carson Wentz declined to say whether he is vaccinated and was wearing a mask when speaking to vaccinated reporters today.
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) July 28, 2021
Is what it is. We're not asking these questions to pry. We're asking bc the starting QB's vaccination status matters. A LOT.
The fact that he is wearing a mask to talk to reporters and there are multiple photos of him wearing a mask around vaccinated coaches means the quarterback is most-likely not vaccinated.
And this is a problem for the Colts. If he isn’t vaccinated, it means he will need to be isolated for 10 days if he has tested positive and five days if he was a close contact. If he did take the vaccine, the return would be just two negative tests within 48 hours. There are 13 days until the Colts play their first regular season game against the Seahawks. None of these timelines are great for a team trying to get their starter up to speed, but the 10-day timeline could possibly mean Jacob Eason starts Week 1.
Wentz could easily be out of protocols before their Week 1 game, but coach Frank Reich has said that he’d like to get two weeks of practice from Wentz before giving him the start. If he means full practices, then any missed days at this point would put him under those two weeks. Of course, Reich could lean toward playing him anyway, but this could put them in a situation they wouldn’t be in unless Wentz is vaccinated.