The Indianapolis Colts are taking a cautious approach with Daniel Jones — as they should. Their $88 million quarterback has looked amazing in training camp, showing no signs of setbacks or even previous injuries.
That said, there's no need to take any risks while he continues to ramp things up ahead of Week 1, so they won't play him in the preseason. Instead, Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard will get the nod for Shane Steichen's team.
Given his well-documented struggles and his trade request, Richardson looks like a long shot to be much more than an emergency/third-string QB in Indianapolis. However, the preseason will give him one final chance to prove to the rest of the league that he's worth a look.
The Indianapolis Colts gave up on Anthony Richardson, but the league may have not
Barring a surprise, the Colts will roll with Riley Leonard as Daniel Jones' backup. There have been no takers for Richardson so far, but that might change once other teams get another opportunity to watch him in a game-like situation.
Richardson's otherworldly physical traits and occasional incredible play can probably fool a desperate team — or one with enough wiggle room to experiment — into thinking he can still be saved. Who knows? Maybe he still can.
He's been a mixed bag in training camp — again — with the lows being comically low and the highs making him look as if he were built in a lab. That's the full Anthony Richardson experience, though; so far, the bad has clearly outweighed the good.
Even so, as laughable as some of his blunders have been, as worrisome as his tapping out of a game was, and as many questions as there should be about his durability, Richardson is so incredibly gifted that someone might still be willing to roll the dice on him.
Granted, his contract situation is a bit of a concern, given how high he was drafted and how much it would take to sign him to an extension. That said, he's just 24, and he might never reach his full potential on a team that seems more than done with him.
Perhaps the Colts will have no choice but to bite the bullet, cut their losses, and release him. It's hard to envision any scenario in which he finishes the season in Indianapolis, even if, by any chance, he does make the 53-man roster. Still, that doesn't mean this has to be the end of the line for him.
That will all start on Thursday when the Colts take the field against the New England Patriots for their first preseason game. He's running out of time, and the preseason should always be taken with a spoonful of salt, but he still has an opportunity to force some teams to at least have a conversation about him.
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