It seems like the Anthony Richardson experiment in Indianapolis is over.
The No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft only played 15 games in his first two seasons and lost a training camp battle to Daniel Jones this year. Jones’ success at the helm of a Colts offense that is mostly unchanged from their last two campaigns has seemingly made it clear that Richardson was simply not ready for a starting role.
The Colts have seemingly decided to move on from Richardson at some point. They won’t pick up his $22.9MM fifth-year option for the 2027 season (via OverTheCap) and could even try to trade him in the next year before his rookie contract expires.
Teams may even have interest at this season’s trade deadline. There is no doubt that Richardson has struggled to start his career, but his physical traits will remain tantalizing for any coach who believes that they can get the best out of him. Acquiring him this year (as opposed to in the offseason) will allow him to get acclimated in a new system and hit the ground running in 2026.
Such a path forward might be appealing to Richardson, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who mentioned Sean McVay and the Rams as a potential possibility. Retirement rumors have followed Matthew Stafford in the past two offseason, and Richardson could be a low-cost lottery ticket for future starter.
The Steelers come to mind as a team in a similar situation with Aaron Rodgers, though offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has not fielded a top-10 unit since his time in Tennessee. The Raiders also have an uncertain future under center beyond 34-year-old Geno Smith. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and minority owner Tom Brady could be part of the appeal in Las Vegas.
Of course, this is all assuming that there is a team who wants Richardson and a desire from both Richardson and the Colts to part ways. That does not seem to be the case quite yet, though offers of opportunity for the former and draft capital for the latter may be enough to change their minds.
I think he is in a bad spot despite his physical gifts.
A true backuo is someone who can maybe ho .500 for a few games, not a development player.
I think it’s practice squad path for him. I doubt he gets a chance to start right away.
Not an NFL QB. Barely a college QB
Every GM in the league knows the Colts will eventually cut Richardson so why would they give up anything in a trade?
And his 2026 salary is guaranteed as a result of his 1st round contract. Who wants that? This guy will either play for the Colts as a backup in 2026 or get released. Anyone with a brain knew he was overdrafted at #4–but I’m pretty sure Jim Irsay ordered his selection.
Richardson was the highest upside QB in that draft. He was also the most raw with the highest risk of bust potential. Going 4 wasnt the problem. Going to Indy was. He needed to sit and be developed for a year because he was nowhere near ready.
I disagree. Richardson did not even have enough experience to benefit from sitting. He needed to play, and even with that in mind, there were going to be growing pains (even more than the usual expected ones, and even more than that for a scrambling QB). Thing is, there’s no guarantee that he will ever develop, and the Colts would need to be content with being bad for at least two (more likely three or four) years before Richardson might turn out to be anything.
An example of a similar highly drafted player who lacked experience but had great physical traits in my mind would be Mitch Trubisky. Like Richardson, Trubisky really needed a lot more college starting history to be able to learn pro concepts in the NFL. He didn’t have that, and indeed lacked many fundamentals that he could have had if he had stayed in the NCAA another year.
Some things the players will only learn in game. Because of Richardson’s lack of experience, it would be really hard for him to truly apply of the lessons he might have learned by observing or in a classroom setting. The problem with Richardson is that he’s still learning to be a QB-not just a pro QB, but a QB itself. There’s a large component of that that involves actually playing to develop a foundation. Richardson ideally should have stayed in college at least another year, because he is still learning the position from what it seems. I do agree with Mustard Tiger entirely on the Irsay theory, which I’ve said myself in the past. This didn’t feel like a Ballard pick to me.
Agreed…but this feels very Ballard to me. Irsay probably wanted a QB, but Ballard loves to show how smart he is by reaching or picking players others would pass on at that spot.
Getting basically nothing from a #4 draft pick is most definitely a problem.
I agree, and whomever pushed for this decision (be it Ballard or Irsay) should have foreseen at least some of this, given the obvious red flags present.
The only reason any team would trade for him is to avoid the risk of exposing him to waivers, where he might get stuck in another bad situation where he might have to play. I know that sounds funny, but playing won’t help him right now.
i want Miami to pick him up as we all know Tua will get a concussion again and be out of the NFL and I don’t think Wilson will last long so I think he could develop in Miami
Richardson only had 12 starts in college, with mixed results. Being taken #4 overall, you can’t blame him for taking the money when he had the chance, but regarding his development as a quarterback, he’s one more example, unfortunately, that staying another year probably would’ve benefited him. The same goes for Trey Lance. It’s a tough choice to make, there is certainly risk involved, but generally, staying another year to develop usually works out for the best. I hope Richardson (and Lance) proves me wrong in the future.
Send him to the bengals for a fourth
Has he shown any hint of being good in the NFL?
One of the strangest draft choices in the history of the NFL.
Taking a “quarterback” who can’t pass at 4th overall.
Richardson is a RB who is playing out of position. He needs o accept that his physical gifts arw best utilized by being a RB or TE.
Only one place to resurrect your QB career, thats in San Francisco
Kurt Warner would recommend St. Louis…lol.
Yeah buddy, you don’t get that luxury.
Dude is only 23 y/o. He could def latch on with a good coach and break out. Geno Smith and Sam Darnold are great examples.