Does Patrick Mahomes need a new backup quarterback? Yes. Does Anthony Richardson need a change of scenery? Yes. Did Michael Vick's career come back to life under Andy Reid? Yes. Should the Indianapolis Colts trade Richardson to the Kansas City Chiefs? Who knows, but someone with close ties to the legendary head coach says "yes."
Richardson's days with the Colts have felt numbered since the completion of his rookie season. He showed signs of great potential, but also signs that he may not be their quarterback of the future. With Daniel Jones' emergence (and career resurgence...sort of), Richardson's place in Indy seems more out of place now than ever before.
That said, there has been no real indication that the Colts would trade Richardson this offseason, not as it stands today, anyway. But if Jones returns, that should shut the door on Richardson's future with the Colts, but not necessarily his NFL career. That's why Louis Riddick, former player-turned-executive-turned-analyst, believes the best place for Richardson to go is Kansas City.
Colts' Anthony Richardson backing up Patrick Mahomes could change the former first-round pick's career trajectory
Now, Riddick isn't just tossing out scenarios without having a sense of what he's talking about. He worked side-by-side with Reid during their time with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2008 to 2012. There is a personal relationship there, but also, Riddick knows how Reid thinks and operates.
While coaching the Eagles, Reid, as Riddick tells it, went out on a limb for Vick, who was out of prison and looking for another door back into the NFL. It was Reid's few years with Vick as his quarterback where Riddick draws some comparisons to Richardson, whom he believes could benefit under Reid, and behind Mahomes.
“Kansas City would be the exact kind of place that Anthony Richardson needs to go,” said Riddick on ESPN's Get Up this week. "Right now, Anthony Richardson needs to rehab himself in terms of how people view him from a pure quarterbacking standpoint and from a competitive standpoint, quite honestly. That's why I think his days in Indianapolis are over.
“Look, no one's going to question Andy Reid,” Riddick continued, “no one's going to question the wisdom of going ahead and sitting behind a guy like Patrick Mahomes. Considering the fact that they just brought back Eric Bieniemy for the single most important reason that they needed to really instill some accountability on that side of the football.”
What young quarterback wouldn't jump at the chance to go sit behind Mahomes? Wisdom is a powerful ally when you use it to your advantage. Then again, Shadeur Sanders didn't want to watch Lamar Jackson while sharing the same jersey, so maybe not every young quarterback wants to learn from greatness.
Richardson, though, may not have a ton of options right now when it comes to deciding his future at the moment. Is the Chiefs a realistic landing spot for him, should the Colts decide to trade him? That's unclear, and probably unlikely.
What is clear is that Richardson is not ready to be a starting quarterback — he may never be a full-time starting quarterback at all. Still, it would not hurt his progression to go somewhere where he can glean from a brilliant coaching staff and learn under a quarterback with some winning experience. If Richardson gets traded this summer, good for him.