The Indianapolis Colts are taking a radical approach to their former No. 4 pick. They want to cut their losses and pull the plug on the Anthony Richardson experiment before it gets any worse, and he's also ready to move on.
Somewhat surprisingly, there have been no takers. He was a top-five selection just a couple of years ago, yet no one in the league seems to be eager to make a run at him. At this point, the Colts will probably take anything they can get in return for his services.
Considering that, ESPN insider Seth Walder argued that the Minnesota Vikings could throw Richardson and the Colts a bone and roll the dice on him. In this scenario, they'd only have to give up a 2027 fifth-round selection to get him.
The Vikings could free the Colts and Anthony Richardson from one another
"Richardson can come to the Kevin O'Connell school of quarterbacks and learn behind another mobile QB in Kyler Murray, who is on just a one-year contract with Minnesota," explained Walder. "... For Indianapolis, it can land a little draft capital now in exchange for a third-string quarterback."
Richardson was, by every objective measure, one of the rawest quarterback prospects in recent history, and it showed. He looked like a deer in headlights at times, and his accuracy issues raise legitimate doubts about his ceiling.
That said, Kevin O'Connell has been successful with multiple quarterbacks, and while the Vikings have a failed project of their own in J.J. McCarthy, Richardson's athleticism and physical tools give him much more potential.
Granted, the Colts may have put themselves in this position with the poor way they've handled Richardson's situation. They've all but killed his trade value, and other teams might be rightfully wary about giving him a chance after watching the organization that drafted him give up on him so easily. There must be something really wrong with him, his work ethic, his health, or all of the above.
That said, giving up a fifth-round selection for a former top-4 pick is a move most general managers should want to make, especially one who may not have a franchise quarterback on the roster. The Vikings hope Kyler Murray can return to his best level, but even when he was a borderline Pro Bowler, he failed to live up to the expectations as a former No. 1 pick.
Richardson wants to go to a place where he can learn and develop. The Vikings are built to win a Super Bowl now, so they can't afford to get him on the field and let him grow through his mistakes; they would've done that with McCarthy if they could.
Still, he knows he's not going to play much -- if at all -- regardless of where he lands. If Shane Steichen has lost his faith in him, there's simply no reason to extend this partnership any further. He has to go.
It would be extremely painful to watch him blossom and develop into a starting-caliber guy elsewhere, even if he never becomes a dual-threat superstar. That said, he might be more of a distraction right now, and that's the last thing the Colts need.
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