Anthony Richardson cannot truly know how his future will play out with the Indianapolis Colts. His fate is not in his control, and it might not be in the control of the current general manager of the team. The current head coach might not have any say either.
After beginning the season 7-1, the team is 8-8 entering Week 18 with a good chance of losing to the Houston Texans. A loss would be the team's second-straight losing season. Injuries affected how good the team could be, but that wasn't the only problem.
Richardson hasn't been around to help. In pregame warmups in Week 6, the quarterback had an exercise band break, and the bar hit him in the face, breaking an orbital bone. Richardson is still suffering from some blurriness in his right eye. No one can say for sure if and when that will clear up.
Anthony Richardson doesn't think about his future with the Indianapolis Colts will play out
Speaking with The Athletic's James Boyd in the days before Week 18, Richardson was asked if he had thought about his future in Indy. The short answer is he hasn't. Not long-term anyway.
Richardson said, "I always think about my future in general. I always want my life to be better...My life improves each and every year. I haven’t necessarily thought about my future here because I don’t see anything wrong right now. (The injury to my eye) kind of dictated what happened throughout the season, but I haven't put too much thought into anything. I'm taking it day by day."
One could certainly parse Richardson's words about not seeing "anything wrong right now," but he likely means his situation with the team. He is still under contract through 2026, but the team would be foolish to pick up his fifth-year option in 2027. He hasn't shown he can be counted on to be a QB1 at any point in his career.
While Boyd's question was a logical one, there is simply no answer to it. Richardson doesn't truly control how his future will play out with the Indianapolis Colts. He could find himself as the starter in Week 1 of 2026 if the team re-signs Daniel Jones and Jones hasn't yet made it back from tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 14.
Or Anthony Richardson could be traded this coming offseason as the team attempts to get any value back for the failed draft pick before he becomes a free agent. Trusting Richardson to be the starting quarterback for any length of time is also likely foolish.
Ultimately, the people deciding on what to do with Richardson might not be in place. Perhaps the team keeps general manager Chris Ballard around, and things go on as normal. Or maybe a new GM is hired. In that case, no one can guess what the next step in Richardson's career would be.