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Anthony Richardson, Colts relationship may be ‘beyond repair,’ NFL insider suggests
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Anthony Richardson has had a bumpy start to his NFL career and, during an appearance on ESPN’s Around the Horn on Wednesday, one NFL insider suggested the former Florida Gator is trending toward a breakup with the team that drafted him fourth overall 2 years ago.
ESPN’s Kevin Clark said the Colts have “bungled” the situation with Richardson and wondered if the relationship is beyond repair. After benching Richardson midway through the 2024 season, the Indianapolis Colts have since signaled they plan to add a quarterback this offseason to compete with Richardson entering 2025.
“They have answered every single question wrong since they drafted Anthony Richardson 2 years ago,” Clark said. “They have bungled the situation and right now I’m afraid it’s beyond repair. You took one of the most athletic quarterbacks we have ever seen at the combine. You let him play for a month. He gets hurt, you let him play for a month. When he gets healthy, you bench him for Joe Flacco, who by the way was supposed to steady the ship. He steadied nothing. And then all of the sudden you say we’re going to bring in another guy.
“You have to give someone like Anthony Richardson a long runway to develop. They haven’t done that. All of the sudden, (general manager) Chris Ballard and (head coach) Shane Steichen are trying to save their jobs. They are trying to get a veteran in right now. For me, that would be someone like Justin Fields if I had to choose. But I just think this was the wrong situation from the get-go. Anthony Richardson was failed. That doesn’t mean he is a great quarterback. But he was failed in this situation. The whole thing is a football tragedy. The whole thing is football malpractice.”
At a Combine press conference on Tuesday, Ballard told reporters that the Colts intend to have an “open” competition at quarterback this offseason.
Richardson appeared in 4 games as a rookie — all starts — before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 5. He completed 59.5% of his passes for 577 yards, 3 touchdowns and a pick. In 2024, Richardson started 11 games, completed just 47.7% of his passes, and threw 8 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Richardson was benched for 2 games in the middle of the season and said he didn’t receive an explanation why.
Ballard said Tuesday the Colts could consider multiple avenues to a new quarterback, be it free agency, a trade, or the draft.
“It’s got to be the right guy to create real competition,” Ballard said. “We want to create real competition. I think it’s good for the team. I think it’s good for Anthony. We drafted Anthony high knowing it was going to take some time and we knew there’s going to be some hiccups along the way. I know we all want a finished product right now. I do. You do. Fans do. We all do. But I think as he continues to progress in his young career, us adding competition, I think, will help up everybody’s game.”
Ballard added that he and Richardson have had “good” conversations about where the quarterback needs to grow in his third year. He said there was “a little naïvety” on Richardson’s part when he entered the league, but that Richardson has been accepting of the feedback the Colts have given him this offseason.
“He is really competitive and I think for a six-game stretch there, we saw some really special stuff out of him,” Ballard said. “Now we’ve just got to get consistent. He’s a really good dude. He cares and I think he’ll put the work in.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
