The Indianapolis Colts still have Anthony Richardson on the roster, of course, but how much longer that remains a fact is unknown. Earlier this offseason, the quarterback requested a trade, and the team allowed him to work out his own deal. So far, nothing has happened.
Several risks exist for teams interested in Richardson's services. One is that he gets hurt too easily and too much. Another is that when given the chance to play, he hasn't been consistently good. He has more interceptions in his career than touchdown passes, for instance.
Can he be fixed by another team? Former Colts offensive lineman A.Q. Shipley doesn't believe so. He said as much during an interview with Kyle Odegard for Vegas Insider, saying, in part, "Maybe backup is his world...Everybody doesn’t need to be the guy."
Former Indianapolis Colts player delivers honest take on Anthony Richardson
What is easy to forget is that Richardson came into the NFL very young and with not enough high-end college experience to help him succeed quickly. He was still thrust into the starting role for Indy too soon and should have sat out at least a full year. He has great physical traits, but has yet to develop the knowledge of how to play the game well, especially as a pro.
Richardson will only be 24 years old when the 2026 season begins, but what no one seems to know for sure is whether he has the work ethic to learn how to be a good player or if he has the ability to be an accurate passer. He can throw the ball 80 yards in the air, but he struggles to complete passes 10 yards away.
Even worse, he doesn't appear to have the football IQ to understand what a defense is trying to do pre-snap. He doesn't read blitzes well at all, nor does he know who his hot read is many times. That might not be something that he can be taught if he struggles to grasp the basic fundamentals of how to play his position.
Shipley also doubled down on his belief that Richardson might never be more than a backup quarterback.
He added, "It was one of those classic ‘He’s got a huge arm, great size, and he runs well.’ That’s one-tenth of the puzzle...I don’t really believe in potential, especially when you’re 22 years old. There’s not much more room to grow. You can understand the game better, which will make you better, but you’ve got to have eight out of 10 boxes checked at that point."
That is a fairly brutal take by A.Q. Shipley, but that doesn't mean he is wrong. Anthony Richardson hasn't yet proven anything to anyone in the NFL other than that he isn't happy being a backup and wants the Indianapolis Colts to trade him.
The other problem a potential team has is that the quarterback has just one year left on his rookie contract. A team is unlikely to give up draft value for a player who won't play in 2026, but just sit and learn behind a veteran quarterback. A team might not learn what it needs about whether to keep Richardson or not. The Colts have, though, and he doesn't need to be in Indy anymore.
Add us as a preferred source on Google