One might wish Anthony Richardson better luck. After all, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback isn't a bad person. In fact, he seems like a pretty good guy, and good people should have good things happen to them. Richardson simply hasn't since he came to Indy.
After a freak injury during Week 6 pregame warmups (Richardson had an exercise band hit him in the eye, and the band broke an orbital bone), the quarterback was placed on injured reserve and will miss at least four games. He could return in Week 12 after the team's bye week.
The hope, though, is that even when he returns, AR5 won't play. Daniel Jones has been playing so exceedingly well this season that fans almost certainly hope nothing happens to him. If Danny Dimes had a more proven backup, Colts fans wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him.
The Indianapolis Colts have to ask themselves what comes next with Anthony Richardson
Will general manager Chris Ballard make a move to bring in another QB2? Currently, rookie project Riley Leonard fills that role. The drop off from Jones to Leonard would be precipitous and crippling to the offense. No offense to Leonard, of course; he just isn't ready to start.
If Indianapolis does make a move to bring in another backup (possibly a trade for a player such as Jameis Winston or signing a free agent like C.J. Beathard), the team would have to make a move when Richardson is ready to return from injured reserve. That might be releasing Leonard with hopes of signing him to the practice squad.
Still, the fact remains that Anthony Richardson is snake-bit (not literally, thankfully, but nothing can be ruled out as bad as his luck has been) and cannot stay healthy enough to be available for games. He also hasn't shown he can be a productive quarterback, possibly because he wasn't consistently healthy in the previous two years.
Assuming Jones continues his stellar play, he is going to be the Indianapolis Colts' starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. Not re-signing him in free agency next offseason would be criminal. Jones will almost certainly be in Indy in 2026 and well beyond.
Richardson, however, might have more trade value than game value. Unless the Colts have more blowouts after Richardson returns from IR (and that is possible; Indianapolis is really good) then AR5 isn't going to see the field. The same holds true for 2026.
That is the final year of his rookie deal. The team has the option, since Richardson was a first-round draft pick in 2023, for 2027, but there isn't a good reason to pick that up. The better move would be for the Colts to try and trade him and get some kind of value back.