Any discussion about the 2025 Indianapolis Colts has to start with the quarterback position. Wednesday was the first day of OTAs and onlookers got their first glimpse of the battle between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones. Both come with question marks and the Colts are certainly hoping one will stand out during OTAs and training camp.
Jake Arthur of Sports Illustrated says that Richardson and Jones split first-team reps throughout the day.
“The Colts did four segments total of 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills on Wednesday, with Richardson taking the first-team reps in the first two segments and Jones taking them in the second half of practice,” Arthur writes. “Head coach Shane Steichen explained that they may continue rotating in this method because each new day often carries a different theme for the offense to work on (short-yardage, goal line, first, second, and third downs, etc.), and they want both quarterbacks to be able to work on the same things.”
Right now, it’s so early that would be impossible to say that either quarterback is in the lead for the starting job.
Anthony Richardson welcomes the competition
Richardson knows that nothing will be handed to him, even though he was the fourth-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He said that he’s energized by having Jones pushing him.
“Competition brings the best out of you,” Richardson said in April. “That’s just how life works, you just gotta compete and get better because somebody to the right, left or in front of you is trying to out-work you and be better than you. Competition, I love it.”
Arthur notes that he did some good things in Wednesday’s practice.
“We got an abridged version of the entire Anthony Richardson Experience, as he jubilantly connected on chunk plays to tight ends Tyler Warren and Will Mallory early on when his mechanics looked crisp, mixing in some runs as well, before coming back down to earth in the second half of practice,” Arthur writes. “That included an interception by linebacker Liam Anderson in front of Mallory, and an off-platform throw across his body that fell well short of the receiver on the next play.”
Richardson will really need to improve on his performance last season. He threw for 1,814 yards, just eight touchdown and 12 interceptions while completing 47.7% of his passes for a 61.6 passer rating. He started 11 games and had a 6-5 record. These numbers just aren’t even close to acceptable for an NFL starting quarterback.
Jones looking for a fresh start in Indy
Jones was 2-8 in 10 starts with the New York Giants last season before asking for his release in November. He completed 63.3% of his pass attempts for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.
He spent some time with the Minnesota Vikings late last season and is hoping to restart his career with the Colts after being the sixth-overall pick of the Giants in 2019.
Arthur said that Jones looked pretty good in his first OTAs with the team.
“Jones looked crisp overall, delivering fastballs accurately into tight windows over the middle of the field,” Arthur wrote. “As would be expected, we saw more short and intermediate throws from Jones compared to more intermediate to downfield throws from Richardson.”
It should be noted that these are OTAs and no one is getting hit. But, it’s better to get positive news than to hear that they both looked disastrous.
First Look at Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Battle