Since signing Daniel Jones in free agency, the writing has been on the wall: Anthony Richardson, formerly the Colts' presumptive QB1, has good reason to be concerned. Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen both made it clear that 2025 will effectively be Richardson's last chance to prove himself with the Indianapolis Colts, and that he will have to compete to keep his role as the starting QB.
While there has been a lot of chatter about how Indianapolis needs to see Richardson succeed this offseason, indicating that the team is still rooting for him behind the scenes, recent comments from Steichen are much more worrying for Richardson fans.
At the NFL Annual League Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, Steichen announced that Jones and Richardson will be splitting reps in OTAs, with no timeline given as to when the QB1 decision will be made, beyond that it will be before Week 1.
From the NFL annual meeting here in Palm Beach:
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) March 31, 2025
Colts coach Shane Steichen says Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson will split starting reps beginning in OTAs and the most consistent QB will be the regular season starter.
This seems similar to how the Colts carried out a quarterback competition between Richardson in his rookie season, when he was against veteran Gardner Minshew. The two would alternate days, with one getting first-team reps and the other second-team for the entire day, and then switching the next day.
Richardson won that battle, and his rookie season in 2023 initially seemed promising. But he was knocked out of contention by injuries, cutting his rookie season drastically short, and he struggled to rebound in 2024. Initially, Richardson had problems with accuracy and consistency, showing flashes of brilliance, while also struggling again with remaining healthy. After Richardson was benched for several weeks, though, he came back stronger - still not quite the quarterback the Colts needed him to be, but showing improvement.
It's not clear if these comments from Steichen should be taken as another death knell in Richardson's career, or if it's just another attempt from the Colts to use competition as a way of motivating Richardson into the success they're still hoping for. Either way, it reiterates that the clock is ticking for AR5 in Indy.