Another NFL offseason and another conversation about the future of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson. The quarterback has requested a trade since the team is going to move forward with Daniel Jones and there just isn’t a place for him in Indy anymore.
It also seems like there might be no place for him elsewhere either. League executives tell Jason La Canfora of Sportsboom that there is absolutely no trade market for the 2023 fourth-overall pick in the NFL Draft.
“Even if he was healthy I don’t think he was going to have much of a market,” one GM told La Canfora.
So far in his young NFL career, Richardson has been nothing short of a disappointment with poor play, poor decisions and injuries mounting on top of one another.
New NFL quarterback contracts have not helped Anthony Richardson
Richardson has a base salary of $5.4 million and a $10 million salary cap hit. That’s not the end of the world for a proven backup quarterback, but he hasn’t even proven he can be that. Let’s be honest, if he wasn’t a top-five draft pick, he’d already be out of the league most likely.
This also comes at a time when other high profile quarterbacks with similarly high draft status are taking minimum wage to compete for starting jobs.
Kyler Murray (most likely entrenched as the starter for the Minnesota Vikings) and Tua Tagovailoa (might be able to start for the Atlanta Falcons since incumbent starter Michael Penix, Jr. wasn’t acquired by the new regime) signed veteran minimum contracts of $1.3 million and that absolutely factors into Richardson’s equation.
“Those contracts didn’t help him,” the G.M. said.
Anthony Richardson’s future with the Indianapolis Colts
So what happens now with Richardson? Well, depending on the health of Jones’ surgically repaired Achilles tendon, he’s not going to play for the Colts.
“At this point, league sources indicated that Richardson has accepted that it is almost certain that he plays out this season with the Colts, and then takes his chances in free agency next year after fulfilling his rookie contracts,” La Canfora writes.
And it’s not that he didn’t get a fair shake in Indy. While given a chance to the be the full-time starter in 2024, he showed flashes of what made him a high draft pick. He also removed himself from a critical game against the Houston Texans on a big drive inside the 10-yard line. Why?
“Tired, ain’t gonna lie,” Richardson said. “That was a lot of running right there that I did, and I didn’t think I was gonna be able to go that next play. So, I just told [head coach Shane Steichen] I needed a break right there.”
Are you being a serious person? As the leader of a football team, you just decided you needed a break at a critical time. Sounds good, Anthony.
Add incidents like that to a stat line for 11 starts that included a 47.7 completion percentage, 1,814 passing yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Now, you’re looking at a guy who really has no home. Most likely any playing time this year will come as the result of injuries and then he’ll hit the open market before the 2027 season.
Execs Shine New Light on Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Richardson Situation