When the Indianapolis Colts told quarterback Anthony Richardson that he was free to find a team that might work out a trade for him, many might have thought Richardson would find some takers. That hasn't happened, and that's a bad sign for the QB.
2026 should have been the year that any quarterback who was recently a first-round draft pick should have been able to work a deal. The draft class this year is fairly weak overall, just as the free agent group of quarterbacks was. Richardson should have at least been worth a look as a backup.
Maybe that will still happen, but that it hasn't so far implies not a lot of teams are interested in a quarterback with a strong arm and great running ability, but has offered no evidence that he can be an accurate passer, nor that he can stay healthy for any real length of time.
Indianapolis Colts' Anthony Richardson not having any luck this offseason so far
At best, Indy might get a late-round pick for Richardson, but general manager Chris Ballard might have known better. He didn't want to do the heavy lifting of finding a trade partner for the quarterback, and had Richardson and his people do the work. They have so far failed.
Indy also has no leverage in a trade. The team re-signed Daniel Jones and appears prepared to move forward with Riley Leonard as QB2 beginning in his second season. Richardson is QB3, and one the team hopes will never play. Basically, teams might be waiting for the Colts to take the nuclear option of releasing Richardson, and then other teams have to give up nothing for him while paying him little.
Anthony Richardson will still only be 24 years old at the beginning of the 2026 season after spending three seasons in the league, yet still be younger than many players who will be chosen this year. He could grow into a decent quarterback, though he has a lot to still learn.
He needs to improve his accuracy, which involves re-learning what he thinks he knows about the technical aspects of throwing a football. As far as his poor decision-making on whether to throw or run on RPOs, that might not be able to be fixed. That is either innate or not, to a great degree.
What seems obvious is that Anthony Richardson won't be with the Indianapolis Colts after this offseason. He will either be traded or released. At this point, the latter is more likely.