After two turbulent seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, Anthony Richardson seems to have fallen out of favor with their front office. The Colts brought in offseason competition in the form of Daniel Jones, who was announced as the starter earlier this week. After being the fourth overall pick just two years ago, Richardson now finds himself on the bench.
Naturally, that’s raised questions as to whether or not Indianapolis will try to trade him. If they do, Chris Canty thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers should come calling.
“I like the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Canty said on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike on Thursday. “Trade a draft pick for him, stash him, see what ends up happening. He can be a part of your quarterback room going forward. Now, do I think he’s gonna be their franchise guy? No, I don’t. But he can be a bridge to whatever is next for the Steelers, after Aaron Rodgers.”
Anthony Richardson is one of the most interesting young quarterbacks in recent memory. He started his rookie season strong with a solid couple of games, but an injury ended his rookie year in just his fourth start. Bumps and bruises slowed him down throughout the year in 2024. Then, this preseason, injuries got to him again, as he broke a finger against the Baltimore Ravens in the first exhibition game. He never wound up getting the starting job back.
The inconsistencies with Richardson may prove too much to overcome. Through 17 career games, Richardson has completed just 50.6-percent of his passes for an average of 159.4 yards per game. He has just 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. One area he is dangerous in is his running skills. Richardson has 635 yards and 10 touchdowns to his name as a rusher.
Not much of that raises any optimism. But it’s important to understand just how young Richardson is. He’s only 23, and is younger than Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Caleb Williams, Tyler Shough, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. That puts things into perspective somewhat, as most of those quarterbacks are still getting their chance to prove themselves. Meanwhile, Richardson is on the bench. Some believe he should be get another chance, possibly with the Steelers.
For Anthony Richardson’s sake, hopefully he gets another opportunity. But it probably won’t be in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are likely to select a quarterback in next year’s draft, boasting a boatload of picks if they need to trade up for one. If that quarterback doesn’t start Week 1, the Steelers are more likely to start an older veteran while that quarterback develops, like Mason Rudolph or even Aaron Rodgers if he decides to play another year. Never say never with Omar Khan. But this scenario isn’t the most likely to play out.
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