For Anthony Richardson and the Indianapolis Colts, it’s all over but the trading. Both sides have agreed that it will be best for the 4th overall pick in the 2023 draft to find a new home for the 2026 season, and the Colts have given Richardson’s representatives permission to seek a trade. Now, the speculation is beginning as to which of the other 31 teams makes the most sense.
Indeed, this outcome was probably inevitable from the moment Shane Steichen chose Daniel Jones as the Colts’ starter before the 2025 season. When Jones performed very well early on, the chances of Richardson sticking around for the final year of his rookie deal grew even more remote.
After Jones tore his Achilles in early December, Richardson might have been primed for a storybook resurrection had he been able to come off the bench and rescue Indy’s dwindling playoff hopes. But a fluky eye injury put a stop to that and instead gave the storybook leading role to Philip Rivers.
So now, Richardson is back at square one, looking for a fresh start.
Where will Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson play in 2026?
He is just 23. He has a world of physical talent and is signed to a cheap contract. Plus, he’s got 15 NFL starts on his resume with an overall winning record in those games. In a very weak year for quarterbacks in both free agency and the draft, Anthony Richardson should get a fair amount of attention.
Balance that against his obvious flaws. Richardson came out of college too soon and was drafted way too high. He needed a lot more experience, and that doesn’t really come easily once a QB reaches the NFL.
NFL.com asked four of its analysts to project the best landing spot for Richardson, and there was a rough consensus about the type of situation he should look for, if not about the actual team.
Marc Ross, David Carr, and Maurice Jones-Drew named the Rams, Packers, and 49ers as good destinations. (Jones Drew mentioned both the Rams and 49ers.) All three teams have a similar profile.
They have established quarterbacks, so Richardson will not be expected to play right away. They have highly-respected offensive minds in the head coaching role. QBs Matthew Stafford, Jordan Love, and Brock Purdy are all first-rate mentors, each of whom has had to overcome obstacles to reach the upper-echelon.
The analysts all point to the way Sam Darnold began his career turnaround, just sitting on the bench and listening to Kyle Shanahan for a season in San Francisco. About five minutes with Sean McVay in Los Angeles was all it took to put Baker Mayfield back on track.
Malik Willis went from being a failed prospect to being the hottest commodity in the free agent market this year after two years with Matt LaFleur.
Can Richardson follow a similar path? Of course, he can, though I would argue that Darnold, Mayfield, and Willis all brought better mechanics into their apprenticeships.
The final NFL.com expert, Jeffri Chadiha, went in an entirely different direction. He looked at it from the franchise’s POV and not from the player’s. He came up with the New York Jets.
Chadiha argues that Richardson’s cheap contract makes him the ideal dart throw for a desperate team like New York. With Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, the Jets do have some weapons on offense. And if AR5 is intent on competing for a starting job and not sitting on the bench for a season or more, New York does make some sense.
But not that much. The Jets are a bad team across the board with a defensive-minded coach. There may be some appeal in playing under a former QB in Frank Reich. But that must be tempered by the fact that New York’s new offensive coordinator has been out of the league since 2023, and didn’t have much success in his final couple of seasons.
Bill Musgrave will serve as the Jets' QB coach, which will be crucial for someone in Richardson’s position. Musgrave was a journeyman QB and has been a journeyman coach for the past 30 years. That experience would seem to be beneficial. However, with one notable exception, Musgrave has worked with some of the least mobile QBs in the NFL during his career.
He got Marc Brunell late, after the Jaguars' QB had stopped running so much. And he had Michael Vick for one season – the season just before his suspension. Vick was good, but no better than he had been in the preceding years before Musgrave came on board.
In other words, Musgrave has a long record, but no real track record of coaching up a player with Richardson’s particular skills and deficiencies.
From Chris Ballard’s POV, it probably doesn’t matter where Richardson goes. Perhaps he will prefer sending his biggest draft bust out of the AFC, but I imagine he’ll just hope for the best return possible. That isn’t likely to be much.
Under normal circumstances, a sixth or seventh round pick would seem like market value for a young player who is likely to be a backup at first. The incredibly weak market could apply a bit of upward pressure, but it’s virtually impossible to imagine the price going higher than a fifth-rounder.
If Ballard get an offer like that, he should jump on it, regardless of what team is making it. Â