Unsurprisingly, it was a disastrous preseason debut for Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones. A trade for Kirk Cousins is the only choice now. Indianapolis Colts' fans surely saw just how awful both Richardson and Jones were in their first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Richardson didn't see David Ojabo rushing off the edge and ended up taking a brutal sack that dislocated his finger. This quarterback is already in his third year in the NFL and should have been that rusher coming.
Daniel Jones was his normal, inefficient self, so I guess it was all par for the course. Despite the team's horrific QB room, the rest of the roster is honestly quite good. It also feels like the heat has been turned to the max for general manager Chris Ballard, who has somehow survived for this long.
Even though it's more of the same, Indy has to swing a trade for this veteran NFC quarterback to preserve this roster.
Kirk Cousins is more of the same, but he is what the Indianapolis Colts need right now
Chris Ballard does deserve some credit here - the Colts' roster is quite good on paper outside of the quarterback room. They've got high-end talent on both sides of the ball and are sound along the offensive and defensive line.
We also saw Ballard finally go out and spend in free agency when he signed Cam Bynum and Charvarius Ward to improve a below-average secondary. The offense features very good players in Jonathan Taylor, Josh Downs, and Michael Pittman, and adding Tyler Warren to the equation makes this unit even better.
Kirk Cousins is really the only solution here - the veteran quarterback did fizzle out a bit in 2024 with the Atlanta Falcons, but he's another year removed from his Achilles injury and has thrown 98 touchdowns against 42 interceptions for a solid 96.4 rating over the past four seasons.
Indy sending Anthony Richardson over to the Falcons for Kirk Cousins might be a great trade for both sides, as the Colts would get some temporary stability at the position, and Cousins would give them a legitimate chance to compete for the AFC South title.
The Indianapolis Colts have to rip this Band-Aid off and just get serious about the quarterback position with the time they have left.