Wentz feels 'new passion for the game' with Colts

Carson Wentz sounds confident that he'll be able to jumpstart his career in Indianapolis.

The 28-year-old quarterback, who was shipped from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Colts after a disastrous 2020 season, believes that his past difficulties will help him prepare for this new chapter.

"I'm excited for it," Wentz said, according to Jonathan X. Simmons of the Indianapolis Star. "Just being in the (Colts) organization and being in the facility, it's definitely a special place. It's really got a family vibe and a family element."

He added: "I really feel like I have a new passion for the game. I've been high, I've been injured, I've been, now, benched, I've been traded, I've kinda seen a lot in five years, so whatever the game throws at me I'm ready."

Wentz struggled during his final season in Philadelphia, losing the starting job to rookie Jalen Hurts while reportedly dealing with a strained relationship with then-head coach Doug Pederson. He completed under 60% of his passes and threw a league-high 15 interceptions over 12 starts.

The former Eagles signal-caller said that a rough start plus COVID-19 restrictions made for a difficult year.

"I think it was really hard with COVID when we had a lot of new rookies and new faces in Philadelphia because we had so many rules. ... Football last year was a lot less personal, and some of those personal connections and relationships were really missing," Wentz said.

"Compound that with the year we had, the year I had, how everything went south in a hurry, it just made it definitely tough, but like we talked about, just keeping my mindset on the right things and just doing the best I could with where I was definitely gave me a different perspective to kinda navigate that.”

In Indianapolis, Wentz reunites with head coach Frank Reich, who was previously the Eagles' offensive coordinator, and is tasked with replacing Philip Rivers, who retired in the offseason.