The Indianapolis Colts’ starting quarterback situation has been heavily discussed this offseason. Will they go with the former first-round pick who has already shown that he’s not an NFL-caliber starter for six years? Or, will they go with the former first rounder who has been incapable of being “the guy” for just two years?
It was a tough decision, but they settled on Daniel Jones over Anthony Richardson this week, and Richardson’s camp isn’t overly thrilled about it.
ESPN’s Stephen Holder says that Richardson’s agent, Deiric Jackson, would like to have a little tete-a-tete with the Colts organization.
“We have a lot to discuss,” Jackson said while stopping short of demanding a trade.
“Trust is a big factor and that is, at best, questionable right now,” Jackson continued. “Anthony came back and made the improvements in the areas he needed to improve. And by all accounts, he had a great camp.”
How are we defining “great camp?”
Agent believes that trust between the Colts and Richardson has been damaged
Jackson is of the belief that the Colts made their decision when they brought in Jones and signed him to a one-year, $14 million contract. And, that might be true. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if they felt that they’d seen enough of Richardson not to trust him with the keys to the convertible.
“Jackson said he believes Tuesday’s decision and some previous situations involving Richardson have damaged the team’s credibility,” Holder writes. “Richardson was benched for two games last season, with Steichen saying at the time that Richardson needed to improve his game preparation. The team quickly reinserted the 2023 No. 4 draft pick into the starting lineup after suffering two straight losses with veteran Joe Flacco under center.”
When it comes to an NFL quarterback being incapable of physically playing the position, that’s understandable. It happens to millions of guys. But, when a team’s concern is regarding mental preparation? That’s really bad.
Couple that with Richardson leaving the field on an important offensive series last year because – as he said after that loss to the Houston Texans – he was…
“Tired, ain’t gonna lie,” Richardson said when he totally should have kept his mouth shut and/or lied. “That was a lot of running right there that I did, and I didn’t think I was gonna be able to go that next play. So, I just told [head coach Shane Steichen] I needed a break right there.”
Anthony Richardson says it’s not personal with the Colts
For what it’s worth, earlier this week Richardson said there were “no hard feelings” after head coach Shane Steichen’s decision.
“He made a decision,” he said. “That’s the decision we’ve got to live with, but no hard feelings, nothing personal. I’ve just got to keep growing. I just can’t let me not being a starter stop me from going and being the person, the player that I’m supposed to be.”
So, is this the end of Richardson’s tenure in Indianapolis? Not necessarily, but it doesn’t look good. Jones is no lock to hold the job for 17 games en route to a playoff appearance. It’s not to say that can’t happen, but if history is any indication, it won’t. Richardson is very likely to stay put for now, but after the 2025 season something would have to drastically change for him to stay.
And, as Jackson said, the Colts have trusted him in the past.
“When they needed a big play last year,” Jackson said, “whose hands did they put the ball in? Anthony’s.”
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