The Indianapolis Colts have decided Anthony Richardson is their second-best option at quarterback, at least for now. They may have a chance to get more return on their investment than they have so far. Whether that investment was the right one or handled wisely is a different matter.
We might as well address the question of the investment itself first. Investment in terms of the draft capital Indianapolis spent using the fourth-overall selection to get Richardson. Taking a kid with less than 400 career passing attempts, under a 55 percent completion percentage, and a 1.6 -1 touchdown to interception ratio is frankly stupid.
I don't care how well he runs; if the Colts had wanted a running back, they should have drafted one.
The Colts should trade Anthony Richardson as soon as possible
Once they had Richardson in the fold, they completely screwed up his development. He'd only played in 24 games in college and was clearly a work in progress. Could he take off and run? Oh, like a gazelle. Could he throw the ball 80 yards deep? The kid had a howitzer on that right shoulder. Did he know when to take off, and when to dial that firepower down? Absolutely not.
And did the Colts give him time to develop? Nah, let's just throw him out there and see what happens until he gets hurt. Rinse and repeat.
We can't be too surprised at the decision head coach Shane Steichen made. Richardson has the higher upside than Daniel Jones, without a doubt. But he has never been consistent, not in college and not in the NFL. Steichen chose consistency. Whether consistent mediocrity is enough, well, that's up to the organization.
Where this leaves Richardson is - well, I can't write where I really think it leaves him. Let's just say it isn't in the cleanest area of the house. He may ask for a trade, but he has zero leverage to force one. Danny Dimes asked for his release last year and got it - and that gives you a lot of confidence, doesn't it? But El Gigantes had already tanked their season at 2-8, so why not give the guy a chance to start over?
Anything could happen in Indianapolis in 2025. It might not be anything great, but one never knows. Everything could click, and the team could catch fire. In the metaphorical sense, not like a terrible housefire. Things going wrong are a much more common occurence in the NFL. One of the most common is watching your season go down with a season-ending injury to the starting quarterback.
There happen to be several teams that are ill-prepared for that. And Anthony Richardson could be a great trade option for those teams. A couple of them might want that insurance already.
New York Jets
The J E T S are continuing their version of the AR5 experiment with Justin Fields. The former first-round pick will be on his third team in three seasons in New York. They're similar players, although it's worth noting that for all the abuse Fields takes, he's been markedly better than Richardson so far.
Behind the former Buckeye, it's a thin room. Tyrod Taylor is 36 years old, and behind him are undrafted free agent Brady Cook from Missouri and UFL standout Adrien Martinez. If I'm Jets GM Darren Mougey, I'm calling Chris Ballard today.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Both the Steelers and the next team have already been mentioned elsewhere on this lovely blue site. I'll add here that Aaron Rodgers isn't a terrible football player, even at the advanced age of 142. But he's a bit more fragile these days. Behind him is Mason Rudolph, returning after his season-long vision quest with the Titans.
Rookie Will Howard is along to carry Aaron's various tinctures and elixirs. Vets Skylar Thompson and Logan Woodside are, gee, who knows why they're in Pittsburgh? The Steelers could use Richardson, especially when Rodgers gets loopy.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are the other team mentioned in the previous article. One of the points there is that coach Sean McVay may be able to apply his healing touch to AR's game. The reason it might be a critical need is that McVay isn't an orthopedist.
Matthew Stafford has struggled with back issues this preseason, and he's not exactly young at 37, either. 481 sacks and hits in the past seven seasons add up. Behind him, LA has Jimmy Garoppolo (yecch) and Stetson Bennett (extra yecch). I think GM Les Snead better have Ballard on speed dial.
Minnesota Vikings
Ah, back to fresh territory. Odd that the Vikings may be in the market for a quarterback when they just shipped a perfectly capable one out west. Unfortunately, second-year (but basically rookie) J.J. McCarthy hasn't gotten rave reviews yet. He's the indisputed number one QB, but the steadiness of the backup is critical here.
Sam Howell looked great until he looked terrible. Brett Rypien is not a starting QB, period. That leaves untested and undrafted Max Brosmer. If McCarthy flops, there's no there there in Minnesota. Richardson would give them more upside than anyone else they have.
Las Vegas Raiders
And at last, one of the league's youngest quarterbacks could join the NFL's oldest coach. Pete Carroll hopes to work his magic in Las Vegas with his personal project QB, Geno Smith. For the most part, they made it work in Seattle. But if Smith falls apart - and he'd have to be awful for Carroll to bench him - they'll need a solid backup.
Backup Aidan O'Connell is fine in that role, but that's it. Their sixth-round quarterback twins, Tommy Mellot and Cam Miller, seem to just be along for the ride. I don't see the Raiders as making a panic call, but this isn't idle speculation on my part. Check out the wayback machine, aka Twitter:
Pete Carroll was asked on @SeattleSports radio how seriously Seattle considered QB Anthony Richardson, who was drafted one spot ahead them to the Colts.
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) May 1, 2023
Pete: "We gave him tremendous consideration." pic.twitter.com/NcsGDzg9hG
Indianapolis should finally make the right decision regarding Anthony Richardson. Not just for the team, but for him, I know that's a novel idea when it comes to the franchise, but who knows, maybe it will catch on.