Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson still has unsettled situation.
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Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson still has unsettled situation.
It’s difficult to imagine things working out between the Indianapolis Colts and quarterback Anthony Richardson. He lost the starting job to Daniel Jones following two poor seasons and a mediocre preseason this year, and it just seems like an untenable situation.
As one could guess, he’s not happy about it and his agent Deiric Jackson said as much weeks ago. He was looking for a tete-a-tete with Colts’ brass to clear the air and hopefully rebuild trust.
“We have a lot to discuss,” Jackson said then (although he stopped 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.”
When you say “great camp,” you mean…?
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN recently wrote that he is watching closely as this situation develops.
“The Anthony Richardson situation is one I will watch closely throughout the season. Richardson’s agent, Deiric Jackson — who publicly questioned trust in the Colts to our Stephen Holder after Richardson lost the QB battle to Jones — met in person last week with Colts general manager Chris Ballard to clear the air,” Fowler writes.
“Jackson called the meeting “very constructive,” and just a chance for sides to “let feelings be known.” Though a trade was not requested, the topic was broached in this meeting. Ballard reinforced that Indy has no plans to trade Richardson and still believes in the quarterback.”
Why won’t the Colts trade Anthony Richardson
With Ballard facing pressure for his job, it’s not clear why he’d hold onto Richardson. Maybe moving him would be admitting defeat and he wouldn’t be getting much in return anyway. However, keeping him around isn’t doing anything for his job security either. So, there’s that.
Both sides want to take a patient approach with Richardson. After all, that was the agreement when he was drafted, right?
“Richardson isn’t making any waves — he will remain professional, backing up Jones and maintaining his readiness,” Fowler contineus. “But part of his camp’s frustration is that all parties acknowledge patience would be required when Richardson was drafted. He entered the league with one year as a full-time high school starter and one year as a starter at Florida. He has admitted publicly that his leadership and maturity were not up to par in 2024, which contributed to his in-season benching.”
Yeah, the benching was less from him checking himself out of an important division game and probably more because he admitted afterwards that it was because he was tired. There’s some maturity for you.
Anthony Richardson simply hasn’t been good when he’s played
There have been moments where Richardson looks all-world. Sadly for him, those moments have been too few and far between. Fowler notes that he’s shown flashes, but still has so much to work on.
“But despite that, Richardson is 8-7 as an NFL starter, including two fourth-quarter comebacks late last season,” Fowler concludes. “He also worked on improving his regimen, leadership, mechanics, diet and ability to layer short-to-intermediate throws, resulting in improvement in camp that ultimately wasn’t enough to win the job. But the Colts know Richardson has a chance to play this season. This situation feels far from settled — and raises questions about how franchises fail young quarterbacks along the way.”
It’s an odd situation for sure, especially considering that Richardson could be called into action at any moment due to Jones’ ineptitude.