4 critical personnel flaws during former Commanders HC Ron Rivera's tenure
By Dean Jones
Commanders traded for Carson Wentz
Ron Rivera's biggest flaw throughout his Washington Commanders' head coaching career was failing to find stability at the quarterback position. Sam Howell aside, nobody lasted a full season. And the former fifth-round selection did so almost by default given he was going to be benched for the final two contests before Jacoby Brissett's injury.
One could pinpoint most moves as failures at football's most important position. The biggest beyond all doubt was the bemusing decision to part ways with significant draft capital and salary-cap space to acquire Carson Wentz.
The former No. 2 overall selection fizzled out with the Philadelphia Eagles before he was shipped to the Indianapolis Colts. Things didn't go much better in a different environment. Yet, Rivera felt this was the man to provide legitimate hope for the future.
How wrong he was.
It didn't take long to realize Washington's trade for Wentz was going to be disastrous. He struggled to generate any momentum. Mistakes in key moments were frequent. Even after the North Dakota State product was controversially reinstalled into the lineup despite Taylor Heinicke's emergence, the result was the same.
The Commanders traded two third-round picks and swapped a second-rounder with the Colts for Wentz. They also absorbed his entire salary - believed to be around $28 million. Wentz lasted just one season in Washington and this is immediately tabbed as one of the worst trades in franchise history for good measure.