It's been a rough couple years for Anthony Richardson. When the Colts drafted him fourth overall back in 2023, everyone in Indianapolis bent over backwards to make sure we all knew that this was going to be a work in progress.
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Then, for the next two years, things ... just didn't really get better. From sub-par on-field performance, to taking himself off the field, to that whole Joe Flacco thing, it's been one thing after another for Richardson, who's not exactly looking like the QB of the Colts' future heading into his third season. As he heads into the all-important Year 3, it sounds like he may not even have his starting job at all anymore.
That's what Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer hinted at in his latest mailbag, and it's the stuff of nightmares for Colts fans. When answering a Colts fan about who he thinks QB1 will be at the start of next season, Breer didn't waste any time setting ... appropriate? ... expectations for the upcomming season.
It sure sounds like Daniel Jones has the inside track at QB1 in Indianapolis
" ... I’d say Daniel Jones. Anthony Richardson has gotten a lot of leash over the past two years, as he should have, coming into the pros as a fourth pick with just 13 college starts on his record. And he hasn’t done nearly enough with the chances he’s been given. Which makes me think the leash will be considerably shorter this time around. As such, I think there’ll be a natural curiosity about what Jones can do with the team Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen have assembled—and my guess is a starting opportunity comes with that."
I honestly don't know what's more bleak: the inevitable realization that Anthony Richardson's probably not The Guy or the fact that the Colts' other option is Daniel Jones. Maybe Jones is good now that he spent, like, three weeks learning from Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota after getting cut *midseason* by the Giants? That's what I'm going to tell myself.
The good news? This fast-tracks the Colts back into the world of QB free agency, where they can continue their trend of finding some franchise legend for one final year of mediocrity. Maybe Aaron Rodgers can swing through? [Taps ear] I'm actually being told that's not good news? Ah! Well, nevertheless.