**Peyton Hopper (Melbourne, Ky.): Why are we giving up on Richardson, when they knew he was a project QB, and also knowing that he needs on field reps to help his development?**
**JJ Stankevitz:** The Colts have emphasized throughout this process – even before naming Daniel Jones their starting quarterback on Tuesday – that they will not give up on Richardson. Both general manager Chris Ballard and assistant general manager Ed Dodds this summer pushed back on the notion 2025 is a make-or-break year for Richardson.
Yes, the Colts will have to make a decision next spring on Richardson's fifth-year option (he's under contract through 2026; the fifth-year option would be for 2027) but there are other avenues to retain him if it winds up being the path the Colts go down.
That's a question for another day, though. To answer Peyton's question, Richardson won't get on-field game reps this season unless something were to happen to Daniel Jones, who head coach Shane Steichen said will not be on a short leash. Richardson's development will have to happen behind the scenes – in meeting rooms, with the scout team on the practice field and in learning from how Jones operates the Colts' offense.
"I think there's still room for AR to grow," Steichen said. "I mean, he's 23 years old. He's still learning, still growing, and for the first time in his career, this is an opportunity for him to sit at the start of the season and learn in a different light, and attack it the right way."
In my chat with Michael Pittman Jr. on the pod this week, Pittman told me his message to Richardson this week about about continuing to build on the improvements he's already made in 2025. And what Pittman said (see his full remarks on the pod here) echoes what we've heard from Ballard and team decision-makers over the last few months.
"He's growing. He's still young, but he's growing," Ballard said before the start of training camp. "I told you all this before, but unfortunately, growth does not happen through success. Growth happens when you have to go through a lot of (expletive), and you know, a lot of times people don't have success because they don't want to go through it. Sometimes you have to go through it."
Richardson will have to go through it as a backup now. But that doesn't mean the Colts are giving up on him, based on what's been said recently.