Carson Wentz wants to wear #11 on his new team, the only number he’s ever worn in the NFL. Starting quarterbacks tend to keep their numbers throughout their careers. Favre always wore #4. Peyton was always #18. Rivers? #17. If you’re a starting NFL QB who has been even moderately successful, you usually keep your number even when you switch teams.
Not Carson Wentz, though. Michael Pittman Jr. is making sure of that.
I, for one, love the pettiness. Good for you, Michael Pittman Jr. Who cares if you’re a second-year pro coming off a so-so rookie season? You wanna wear sticks? You go ahead and wear sticks. Tell Carson Wentz to kick rocks.
But know this, Michael Pittman Jr. The only reason you’ll be wearing #11 next season is because Carson Wentz let you.
If push came to shove
Look, I’m sure Michael Pittman Jr. is going to have a solid NFL career, much like his father before him. But if Carson Wentz insisted on wearing #11 with the Colts, Pittman Jr. would be on the market for a new number.
You really think the organization was going to side against their new franchise QB, who they gave up two picks for and will be paying upwards of $25 million in 2021? No shot. If Wentz, upon hearing that Pittman Jr. was being a little too possessive with his number, asked the organization to intervene, you better believe the second-year wideout would have gotten a call from Jim Irsay, or whoever deals with these kinds of things for the Colts. Carson Wentz is far more integral to Indy’s success, as this team has Super Bowl aspirations in 2021. He’s getting his damn number if he wants it.
It seems Wentz is letting Pittman Jr. keep #11. Issue squashed. No harm, no foul. Let’s get back to focusing on football. Like I said, though, he could have gotten #11 if he really wanted it. He could have taken it to another level too…
If Carson Wentz was extra petty
This is next-level pettiness. In this scenario, Wentz goes through the aforementioned process of getting his number, going through the higher-ups once his request was denied by Pittman Jr. He gets it, obviously. But then he gives it back!
“You can wear #11, Michael. Just wanted to make sure we’re not putting ourselves above the team,” or something like that, is what Wentz would text his wide receiver. Now that’s a power move. Taking someone’s number, then giving it right back, just to let them know who’s boss. Wentz quite literally has Pittman Jr.’s career in his hands after all. It would behoove Pittman Jr. not to antagonize his new quarterback so quickly, something he risked doing when he refused to give up his number. This would be the ultimate “oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” moment.
Wentz would never do this, of course. He seems keen on building good relationships in Indy and getting his career back on track. But this could have been an all-time petty battle between these two new teammates, instead of just a pretty good one (in the realm of pettiness).
Here’s hoping Wentz doesn’t harbor any hidden resentment towards his 6’4″ wide receiver, and he and the one and only #11 develop a good rapport on and off the field.
