A report from earlier this month suggested that the Indianapolis future of Colts’ second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson is uncertain and could be tied to the fate of the man who drafted him, general manager Chris Ballard. And, since the club is at risk of missing the playoffs for the sixth time in Ballard’s eight years as the front office boss, the GM’s job may not be safe.
However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that the Colts plan to move forward with Richardson as their starting signal-caller in 2025. The No. 4 overall pick of the 2023 draft was benched in favor of veteran Joe Flacco in Week 9, but Flacco did not play well in Week 9 or Week 10 (both losses), and Richardson was reinserted into the starting lineup in Week 11.
One of the reasons for Richardson’s demotion was his lack of adequate pre-game preparation, but the club is pleased with how the young passer responded to the benching and the improvements he has made to his preparation and attention to detail. Since his return, the Colts have posted a 3-2 record, and the Florida product has shown flashes during that stretch.
His accuracy is still cause for concern, as he has connected on just 47.7% of his pass attempts this season and has thrown eight TDs against 12 interceptions. He has not shown a marked improvement in that regard since he regained his starting job, as he has tossed four TDs against five interceptions and has completed 51.1% of his passes in the last five games.
Richardson’s health issues are also troubling. He played in just four games in his rookie campaign due to a sprained AC joint, and even before his benching this year, he missed two games due to an oblique injury. He will miss today’s critical matchup with the Giants as a result of foot and back issues.
That said, the current ailments are not considered long-term ones, per Rapoport, and since Richardson will not have to spend the upcoming offseason focusing on rehab as he did last offseason, the hope is that he will be able to further develop his fundamentals. Plus, despite his accuracy woes, the big-armed passer is still capable of making plays through the air and on the ground (he leads the league with 14.4 yards gained per pass completion and has rushed for nearly 500 yards and six scores while maintaining a 5.8 yards-per-carry average).
Rapoport suggests that head coach Shane Steichen and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter will be retained for 2025, noting that the two coaches and Richardson hope to find sustained success together next season. He does not, though, mention Ballard in his report, so it is theoretically still possible that owner Jim Irsay elects to move on from his top executive. In such a scenario, the new hire may feel differently about Richardson’s upside and could seek to go in a different direction under center.
Joe Flacco will make his fourth start of the season in Richardson’s absence with Sam Ehlinger serving as the backup quarterback. Sunday will be Flacco’s seventh appearance and fourth start of the season. He has completed 66.5% of his passes for 1,167 yards and nine touchdowns along with five interceptions this year.
Richardson has been dealing with back and foot soreness all week, which sidelined him from practice, per Rapoport. Specifically, Richardson’s mobility and movement have been limited by back spasms, according to Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. There was optimism earlier in the week that the second-year quarterback could play on Sunday, per ESPN’s Stephen Holder, but his lack of participation in Friday’s practice indicated otherwise.
Sunday’s game will be Richardson’s fifth absence of the season, and it could not come at a worse time for the Colts, who could be eliminated from playoff contention this week. If that happens, Indianapolis may opt to shut down their young quarterback altogether to give him a head start on healing up and preparing for the 2025 season.
Richardson’s durability has been a concern since he entered the league due to his physical playing style. He played in just four games as a rookie in 2024 before landing on injured reserve with a grade three AC joint sprain. This year, an oblique injury sidelined him in Weeks 5 and 6 before trouble arose with his back and foot later int he season.
Richardson admitted on Tuesday that his 86 rushing attempts (fifth-most among quarterbacks) have taken a toll on him physically.
“From the start of the season, you’re going to feel those hits the next day,” Richardson said (via Holder). “In college I didn’t really get sore. But the NFL, it’s a different breed, different game. You have some grown men out there playing football, so it’s always a little different getting tackled by those guys.”
Richardson’s durability isn’t the only concern surrounding his lack of availability. He was considered a raw quarterback prospect when the Colts selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. With just 13 starts and a 54.7% completion rate in college, most evaluators believed that Richardson would need consistent playing time to kickstart his development in the pros. As he approaches the end of his second NFL season, the former Florida standout has played in just 15 games with a 50.6% completion rate and a 11:13 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Two weeks remain in the regular season, and while a number of teams are jockeying for playoff spots several others are still in contention to land a coveted draft slot. It remains to be seen where the No. 1 selection will wind up.
The Giants and Raiders entered Sunday’s action with two wins apiece, and New York’s loss kept the team strongly in contention to kick off the draft in April. By virtue of winning against the Jaguars, though, the Raiders hurt their chances of finding themselves in that position. A top-two spot (or thereabouts) may be required to draft either of this year’s top passers, but a small move up the order positioning Vegas to add one could still be on the table.
Five teams currently sit a 3-12, and a head-to-head matchup between the Titans and Jaguars on Sunday will be key in deciding where each of them wind up. Another three squads own a 4-11 record, so plenty of potential exists in terms of changes being made to the order at the top of the board. Numerous expected suitors for a Day 1 quarterback (including teams like the Browns and Jets) may very well find themselves out of reach for Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanderswithout a trade-up being necessary. The Panthers’ starting situation with Bryce Youngis certainly not settled for 2025, but adding a passer on Day 1 would come as a surprise at this point.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2024 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is an updated look at the current draft order:
Signed (off Cardinals’ practice squad): T Charlie Heck
The Cardinals – who were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday – will close out the season without either of their starting tackles. Both Johnson and Williams are dealing with knee injuries, and they will be shut down for the remainder of the campaign. The former was a full-time starter as a rookie last year and made 14 appearances in 2024 upon switching to the blindside. Williams signed a one-year deal in free agency to handle RT duties, but two separate knee ailments will limit him to six games played this year. The 27-year-old’s free agent stock will take a hit as a result.
Wallace has made 13 appearances in 2024, his first season with the Broncos. The veteran has handled part-time defensive duties along the way, while also chipping in on special teams. As Denver returns to health at the CB spot, though, Wallace will hit the waiver wire. Should he clear, head coach Sean Payton said the Broncos would like to re-sign him via a practice squad deal (h/t Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette).
Fashanu exited the Jets’ Week 16 contest on crutches, and it was recently reported he would miss the rest of the season as a result. Today’s move thus comes as no surprise. Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said on Tuesday surgery to repair the first-round rookie’s plantar fascia would be needed, but the team has since clarified a procedure will not take place. Fashanu is expected to recover in full through rehab.
December 23rd, 2024 at 10:20pm CST by Sam Robinson
Aaron Rodgers‘ latest Pat McAfee Show appearance again made reference to (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini) potentially being a first-time free agent soon. Although the Jets should not be ruled out from reversing course on their rumored QB divorce and keeping their aging quarterback, a look for 2025 landing spots remains relevant.
The 20th-year veteran has stopped short of confirming he will be back next season, but as of mid-November he was pointing to a return for 2025. If nothing else, Rodgers may want a chance to provide a better conclusion to his decorated career compared to what is transpiring this season in New York. The Jets are 4-11, which will clinch their worst record since Zach Wilson‘s rookie year, and are expected to draft a quarterback.
It is worth wondering if the Jets could keep Rodgers as a bridge, considering he has expressed interest in staying. The 41-year-old passer said he would prefer to stay rather than relocate again, but reports in the wake of Joe Douglas‘ ouster place the team as being ready to move on. Rodgers and Woody Johnson also appeared to disagree on Nathaniel Hackett‘s employment this offseason, and the owner — perhaps on multiple occasions — called for the QB’s benching this year. Rodgers has played better as of late, however, and could be an option for a Jets team that is unlikely to earn a top-two pick. Barring a trade-up, the Jets would not then be in position for one of the top two arms in the 2025 class (Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders) and may then need to expand their options.
Ranking 23rd in QBR and averaging a career-low 6.6 yards per attempt, Rodgers should not be closely associated with his prime years or even the late-prime seasons that brought him his third and fourth MVPs. But he is certainly good enough to hold a starting job somewhere. A team would need to provide an opportunity, and Rodgers carries some baggage at this stage of his career some franchises may be fine avoiding. Though, it is not hard to see a few teams showing a degree of interest.
Sam Darnold will be the 2025 free agent class’ prize, should the Vikings not use their franchise tag on the surging starter. Russell Wilsonwants to re-sign with the Steelers, who are expected to pursue a second contract with their starter. But his value is somewhat murky right now. Minnesota’s second-best QB, Daniel Jones, will be a lower-cost option. Justin Fields would be as well, with Jameis Winston an unstable bridge for teams who do not project to land one of the top rookie arms. A host of backup-level options will once again hit the market as well.
The Jets still have Tyrod Taylor under contract; if Rodgers is not brought back, he would be a midlevel stopgap option. But a new GM-HC duo is coming — one that will bring a new offense for Taylor to learn, if he in fact is retained. It would cost more for the Jets to drop Rodgers in 2026 — due to a roster bonus that reminds of his 2023 Packers situation — than it would in 2025, when he would bring a $49MM dead money hit. Like the Broncos and Wilson, the Jets cannot designated Rodgers a post-June 1 cut — which would split the dead money between 2025 and ’26 — until March 12, the start of the 2025 league year. If the team’s new regime would be onboard with absorbing all of that $49MM in 2025, it could cut the cord in mid-February like the Raiders did with Derek Carr in 2023.
Expanding the board for Rodgers beyond New York, the Titans seem like a place to start. A Trade Rumors Front Office piece explored a Rodgers-Tennessee fit last month, and Will Levis has since been benched. The Titans added a host of pieces on offense (Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard, Lloyd Cushenberry, JC Latham) to improve Levis’ situation but did not see the additions matter much in that regard. With Brian Callahan and Ran Carthon not steering their ship into calm waters post-Mike Vrabel, a semi-desperate solution exists in Rodgers. Beyond Tennessee, some creativity may be necessary.
The Colts reside in a similar situation, having seen 2023 draftee Anthony Richardson display one of the modern NFL’s worst completion percentages. He is still carrying a 47.7% completion rate; only six passers have previously posted sub-50% accuracy numbers (minimum 200 attempts) in a season this century. The Colts have obviously tried the veteran route extensively post-Andrew Luck, with the Matt Ryan experiment potentially making Rodgers a non-starter. But Indianapolis probably will need to look into competition for Richardson in 2025. Its quartet of Day 2 wideout investments, all under contract next year, would benefit from a significant accuracy upgrade.
The Browns are believed to be interested in Darnold; would a regime that has moved onto hotter seats, then, be interested in Rodgers? The latter would not cost as much as Darnold soon will, though a QB contract beyond the rookie-scale level will be an issue for a Browns team stuck with Deshaun Watson. The team is planning to retain the wildly underwhelming starter in 2025, as it would cost $172MM to drop him. Even with Andrew Berry‘s penchant for void years that reduce cap charges in exchange for future hikes, a midlevel starter contract would be a complicated effort. But a veteran-laden Browns roster that observed Joe Flacco elevate Kevin Stefanski‘s offense would at least align with Rodgers’ shortened timeline.
If the Steelers cannot reach a deal with Wilson, their roster would also line up with a potential Rodgers one-off. On the surface, Rodgers’ antics probably do not mesh with this organization — as interesting as a fit with Mike Tomlin would be — though the team may still need to see how Wilson performs over the next few weeks to determine whether a substantial raise is called for. How different Wilson and Rodgers’ price points will be also checks in as an issue for what still seems like a poor fit in Pittsburgh, even though the team — which famously does not negotiate in-season — has both Wilson and Justin Fields due for free agency.
The Raiders dropped several spots in the draft order thanks to their Week 16 win over the Jaguars, and Rodgers did have them on his destination list during his 2021 offseason standoff with the Packers. That said, the Raiders are squarely in rebuilding mode and do not seem a likely landing spot. With the Giants now moving toward the No. 1 overall pick, neither do they.
We fired up a similar poll two years ago, as rumors circulated about Tom Brady being likely to leave the Buccaneers after 2022. The legendary passer was connected to teams but did not end up playing again, retiring for a second time. Rodgers, who classified himself as “90% retired” two offseasons ago before joining the Jets will have retirement squarely in play once again. Will the future first-ballot Hall of Famer take that route or end up with one of these teams? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
The Titans’ decision to move on from Brayden Narveson comes as a bit of a surprise following this weekend’s roster machinations. The organization didn’t only promote the kicker from the practice squad…they also signed him through the 2025 campaign. With Nick Folk apparently approaching full health, the Titans have decided to stick with the veteran and move on from his fill-in.
Narveson’s stint with the Titans featured only a single appearance, when he missed his lone field goal attempt and converted two extra points in yesterday’s loss. Narveson spent the beginning of the season in Green Bay, where he converted 12 of his 17 field goal attempts.
The Colts are set to receive some reinforcement on both sides of the ball. The team announced that they’ve activated center Ryan Kelly and linebacker Jaylon Carlies from injured reserve.
Kelly landed on injured reserve in early November with a knee injury. Kelly dealt with lingering injuries through the start of the season (including a neck issue that kept him off the field for Week 4 and Week 5), and the lineman is set to make his fewest appearances since his sophomore campaign.
Currently in his ninth professional season, Kelly struggled a bit to begin the year, with Pro Football Focus grading him 21st among 42 qualifying centers. If this trend continues, it will mark the third time since 2021 that Kelly has graded as an average or below-average center (although he did rank eighth at the position in 2023). Both Tanor Bortolini and Danny Pinter have filled in at center while Kelly was out of the lineup.
A fifth-round pick, Carlies got some early looks, garnering 143 defensive snaps in seven games (three starts). Before suffering a lower-leg injury in Week 7, the rookie collected 21 tackles and one sack. Carlies has shown plenty of versatility already, lining up on the defensive line, in the box, and even at cornerback, so he shouldn’t have any issues finding his way back into the lineup.
In corresponding moves, the Colts waived safety Darren Hall and promoted cornerback Tre Flowers and guard Mark Glowinski as standard gameday elevations. Hall got into four games with the Cardinals earlier this season before getting waived. He was subsequently claimed off waivers by the Colts but hasn’t gotten into a game with his new squad. Flowers joined Indy’s practice squad in October but hasn’t seen any playing time. After sitting out the first few months of the season, Glowinski caught on with his former squad back in November. With the Colts dealing with injuries along their OL, the veteran has already been tasked with starting two games for the team. This will mark Glowinski’s third promotion, so there’s a chance he earns a regular roster spot next week.
Thomas will hit the waiver wire once again after getting claimed off waivers by Indianapolis and failing his physical. He was first waived off of the 49ers’ injured reserve with an injury settlement, so it’s not a surprise that injury prevented him from passing his physical, but a 28th-ranked Colts pass defense was looking forward to adding an additional defensive back.
December 19th, 2024 at 12:45pm CST by Adam La Rose
Ambry Thomaswas waived with an injury settlement on Tuesday, marking an end to his 49ers tenure. The veteran corner appeared to have his next NFL opportunity lined up in short order, but that is now on hold.
The Colts claimed Thomas off waivers, setting him up to finish the campaign in Indianapolis. He failed his physical upon joining his new team, though, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes. The news comes as a surprise given the fact Thomas was cleared by San Francisco’s staff over one month ago, according to Schefter. Thomas has yet to play this season after dealing with a forearm injury.
“Ambry feels good and is ready to play,” agent Drew Rosenhaus said of the situation (via Schefter). “My prediction is he will pass his next physical.”
It will be interesting to see if Thomas gets another look in short order or if he passes through waivers in the wake of this development. If that takes place, the 25-year-old will become a free agent with the option of joining any interested party to close out the season. Thomas made 42 appearances (including 11 starts) during his three seasons with the 49ers, with his largest workload coming last year. If a team does put in a new claim for the Michigan product, they will be on the hook for the prorated remainder of his $1.19MM salary; Thomas’ rookie contract is set to expire this year.
The Colts rank 28th against the pass this season, so it comes as no surprise the team showed interest in a late-season addition at the cornerback spot. Indianapolis is 6-8, meaning a three-game winning streak (along with help from outside results) will be needed for a wild-card berth to be possible. Thomas will not play a part in the team’s efforts to reach the playoffs, however.
