The Indianapolis Colts had one of the few quarterback competitions in training camp leading up to the 2025 NFL season, and ultimately, veteran Daniel Jones beat out former No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson for the Week 1 job.
Head coach Shane Steichen stood behind his decision by making sure everybody knows Jones doesn’t have a short leash, which brought up plenty of questions about where Richardson stands within the organization and what kind of role he will have this season.
Steichen recently touched on that topic as well, saying there’s a chance A-Rich could be used in short-yardage situations due to his ability as a runner.
“We’ll see. I want to make sure he crushes his new role and takes it in stride, and does a hell of a job there. So, we’ll see,” Steichen answered when asked if he’ll use Richardson in short-yardage situations.
Shane Steichen on using Anthony Richardson in short-yardage: pic.twitter.com/5357XHfNvY
— Kevin Bowen (@KBowen1070) August 28, 2025
It wouldn’t be unprecedented to see a backup QB used like this, as the Baltimore Ravens did something similar early in Lamar Jackson’s career before he was a full-time starter.
The Pittsburgh Steelers also deployed Justin Fields in plenty of short-yardage situations last year to spot Russell Wilson, so it would be a fun wrinkle to add to this offense while also keeping Richardson engaged and in the mix.
Jones has had fumbling issues in the past, but he is plenty athletic to handle short-yardage situations on his own, so there’s no guarantee we’ll see Richardson used this way.
Regardless of how you slice it, this is not where the Colts wanted to be when they selected Richardson fourth overall a couple of years ago.
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