Chris Ballard was the biggest supporter of quarterback Anthony Richardson with the Indianapolis Colts. The now-former general manager was the one who chose Richardson in the first round of the 2023 draft, after all. Ballard was the one who kept saying what a great person and teammate Richardson was, but now Ballard is gone.
Head coach Shane Steichen isn't the biggest fan of Richardson. He definitely won't say otherwise, of course, but the coach's actions speak loudly enough. Indy isn't going to change quarterbacks, and Daniel Jones will remain QB1, even when he doesn't need to.
Steichen could have gone with Richardson at some point during this dismal season for Indy, even having AR5 be the one trying to throw the Hail Mary at the end of the bitter loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 6. Jones could barely get it to the end zone. Richardson could have thrown it out of the stadium.
Chris Ballard was Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson's biggest supporter
This isn't to say that Richardson would be a better quarterback than Jones, of course. He's never shown he can be a quality quarterback, but Jones isn't showing that this season, either.
But maybe Richardson is still on the roster at all because Ballard didn't truly want to trade the quarterback. Richardson requested to be traded early in the offseason, and nothing materialized. Ballard claimed he didn't want to just give away the QB. Maybe he didn't want to move the quarterback for any reason.
Now that Chris Ballard is gone, is it more likely that the Colts trade Richardson? Maybe. No one can know for sure. Steichen won't be making the personnel decisions, as he will answer directly to ownership, while Ballard's assistant GM, Ed Dobbs, will be handling Ballard's former duties.
Dobbs could be auditioning to be the long-term answer to who will take Ballard's spot. Dodds has been with Indianapolis since 2018, and obviously knows ownership well. Any move he makes would probably need Carlie Irsay-Gordon's approval, but if that happens and Dodds trades Richardson for something valuable, that's a win-win for all involved.
Without Chris Ballard, anything is possible for Anthony Richardson. He is a free agent next year and almost certainly won't be re-signing with the Colts. If Indy wants to get something for him, they need to trade him before the November 10 deadline. That decision is up to Ed Dodds now.
Instead of being stuck in Indianapolis without starting, and with no Chris Ballard, AR5 could land with a new team sooner than expected. That is, if another team wants to take a chance on him.
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