The Indianapolis Colts have brought in a quarterback with 18 career starts for a tryout amid the latest injury to former first-round pick Anthony Richardson.
According to ESPN’s Stephen Holder, the Colts have free-agent quarterback Desmond Ridder participating as a tryout player at their mandatory minicamp this week, giving them four available quarterbacks for practice to compensate for Richardson’s absence.
Richardson missed all of last week’s OTA practices and is out indefinitely for the Colts with an injury that head coach Shane Steichen described as an “aggravation” of the AC joint in his right throwing shoulder. It is the same joint that Richardson injured during his 2023 rookie season that required him to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.
In the meantime, the Colts are making do with veteran Daniel Jones — whom they had signed to compete with Richardson for the starting job — alongside sixth-round rookie Riley Leonard and Jason Bean. If they like what they see from Ridder in minicamp, they could potentially sign him to the roster heading into the break before training camp.
The Colts will hold two more minicamp practices on Wednesday and Thursday.
Will Colts Sign Desmond Ridder to Push Daniel Jones?
The Colts had originally envisioned a starting quarterback battle between Richardson and Jones for their forthcoming training camp, but Richardson’s aggravated shoulder could force them to change gears. Could that mean signing Ridder to challenge Jones?
Ridder has more experience than all of the Colts’ other quarterbacks aside from Jones, including Richardson. He has thrown nearly 600 career passes in the NFL, completing 63.6% of them for 4,002 yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 25 career games. He also started 13 games for Arizona in 2023, leading four game-winning drives.
While Ridder would be a downgrade for the Colts from their previously expected battle between former top-10 draft picks, he has experience that could prove vital to them if they are forced to spend extensive time without Richardson in training camp. Not only can he compete with Jones for the top job, but he can also push the rookie Leonard — who has shown flashes in his limited offseason showings and could vie for the roster.
If the Colts want to sign Ridder, they will most likely wait until after minicamp ends. They might also release Bean in a corresponding move if they do, though the Colts may prefer to keep five quarterbacks on their roster while they await more Richardson news.
Daniel Jones Remains Frontrunner for Colts’ QB Job
While the Colts could soon add another quarterback to the mix, Jones may control his destiny when it comes to opening the 2025 season as the team’s starting quarterback.
The Colts made a moderate investment in Jones during free agency, signing him to a one-year, $14 million contract that installed him as a proper veteran competitor for the inconsistent Richardson. He had started 69 games for the New York Giants in the past six seasons, completing 64.1% of his 2,241 passes for 14,582 yards and 70 touchdowns.
The idea had been that Jones would compete with Richardson for the starting job and either help to bring out the best in the Colts’ 2023 fourth overall pick or overtake him. Either way, a competition would provide the Colts with more confidence about their quarterback position heading into Week 1 after trusting Richardson in previous years.
Now, roughly three months later, Richardson’s availability has become a problem once again and Jones is gaining ground in their quarterback battle that might be difficult for Richardson to make up, even if he does return fairly early into the start of camp.
“He’s been great,” Steichen said of Jones last week. “He’s done a really nice job for us acclimating to the offense, learning the system. Obviously, a smart guy, [he] understands it. He’s picked it up real nice and he’s done some good things so far.”
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