The Indianapolis Colts are sticking with Daniel Jones.
There was a brief moment after the Week 8 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, when Danny Dimes was benched in the fourth quarter for Anthony Richardson, when it seemed like Richardson might get the chance to start in Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys.
But nope — the Colts made it clear earlier this week that Jones will remain the QB1, like he has been all year in being a part of Indy’s 2-6 start.
At this point, it’s not clear Richardson can do anything to earn a start. His contract expires at the end of the year, and after dealing with a scary eye injury last year, it seems like Richardson is simply on the outside looking in as far as getting an opportunity.
Even after just his brief cameo on Sunday, Richardson was grateful. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it back after his eye injury, and so it was a triumph just to be back out on the field.
But now, Richardson’s future is unclear. He might be a trade candidate, or maybe he just walks at the end of the season and signs with someone new in free agency to try to prove himself away from Indianapolis.
Either way, Richardson is still waiting right now.
Anthony Richardson Shares Honest Feelings
On Thursday, Richardson spoke to local reporters in Indianapolis and shared how he’s viewing his future.
He was actually asked what people would want to know about him since the last time he started in the NFL, and it may not have been a question he was expecting in that way, but he answered it well:
#Colts QB Anthony Richardson Sr., asked what he’d want people to know about him since his last NFL start:
“I don’t know if there’s anything in particular. … I just know that I’ve been putting in work. … I’m just hopeful that one day I do get an opportunity to showcase that.” https://t.co/sRdp8kq6B8
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) November 5, 2026
That last line, about hopefully getting a chance to “showcase” the work he’s put in, is clearly the truth. Richardson has a lot of natural talent but hasn’t seen his NFL career go his way.
It makes perfect sense that he’d love to get back out there on that field. It’s just not clear if that’ll happen for the Colts.
Will Colts Trade Anthony Richardson?
It seems like the Colts probably already should’ve traded Richardson to get more value if they had moved him over the summer, but they could still deal him now.
The fact that he’s a free agent at the end of the season makes him less interesting to an acquiring team, but he could still prove useful.
Indy likely held on to him to be Jones’ backup on what they hoped was a playoff team. Now that it’s clear the Colts aren’t any good, they’ll survive just fine with Riley Leonard behind Jones if they trade Richardson.
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 10 — we’ll know by then what the final verdict is.
Colts’ Anthony Richardson Shares Honest Feelings Before Trade Deadline