Anthony Richardson Sr. Could Go Down As Colts' Greatest Blunder

The Indianapolis Colts is simply a franchise pinch ambiguity pursuing a mountainous autumn from grace successful nan last 7 games of nan 2025 season.

One of, if not nan biggest, foggy area is what this franchise will do pinch nan backmost Anthony Richardson Sr. successful 2026.

The Colts must determine connected his fifth-year option, and based connected really overmuch they look to want to clasp Daniel Jones, Richardson looks to person nary future.

If this is nan case, nan Colts whitethorn person had their biggest correction successful franchise history. Here are 3 elaborate subjects to support nan reliable case.

The Massive Risk That was Taken

Richardson came into nan 2023 NFL draught pinch immense grey areas, chiefly his deficiency of starting acquisition astatine nan University of Florida.

During his clip pinch nan Gators, Richardson only started 13 games. The biggest sample size was his last twelvemonth (2023).

He'd complete 176/327 passes (53.8 completion percentage) for 2,549 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, and 9 picks.

While questions surfaced astir his accuracy, experience, and mechanics, cipher wondered astir his rushing ability.

He put up 1,116 rushing yards connected 161 carries (6.9 average) and 12 rushing scores during his 3 years.

Indy decided this was capable to consequence everything by drafting him fourth-overall successful 2023. This was aft a 4-12-1 decorativeness to nan 2022 play that besides saw Frank Reich canned and Jeff Saturday hired successful nan interim.

What followed was a promising four-game rookie twelvemonth earlier sustaining a season-ending AC associated sprain.

He vanished pinch 50/84 completions (59.5 completion percentage) for 577 passing yards, 3 TDs, and an interception during his rookie campaign.

He besides ran for 136 yards and scored 4 much times. The presumption was he'd study from nan sideline while recovering and would elevate successful twelvemonth two.

Boy, was that arsenic incorrect arsenic tin be.

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The Brutal 2024 Season That Exposed Colossal Flaws

To opportunity nan bottommost fell retired from nether Richardson successful 2024 is simply a gross understatement. Rather, it was a complete implosion from an ratio standpoint.

For starters, nan injuries carried complete successful multitudes from his rookie year. Richardson missed six games owed to oblique, back, foot, and hep injuries. If location was an injury, Richardson fundamentally had it successful 2024.

Second, those 11 games showed that NFL defenses caught up to him astatine NASCAR-type speeds. He was wildly inconsistent arsenic a axenic QB and looked often confused astatine nan defenses he was reading.

He vanished pinch a God-awful 126/264 completions (47.7 completion percentage) for 1,814 passing yards, and much picks (12) than touchdown tosses (eight).

While Richardson continued to show he tin beryllium a bruising runner (499 rushing yards and six touchdowns), he still coughed up a whopping 9 fumbles successful nan process.

Due to specified a deficiency of well-oiled cognition nether center, Jones was signed successful free agency to footwear disconnected a QB competition, pinch nan dream that Richardson would triumph pinch pressure.

This didn't hap astatine all, and Richardson was a backup for his 3rd NFL play while watching Jones blossom into a profession resurgence. He besides sustained a freak mishap orbital bony fracture, which landed him connected Injured Reserve.

Now, his early is thing much than a neon mobility mark. This brings maine to nan past constituent of this piece.

His Wildly Uncertain Future pinch nan Colts

It's simple: Richardson is apt retired pinch nan Colts.

Indianapolis tried everything done 3 years pinch Richardson to morph him into a franchise quarterback.

While nan Colts should enarthrosis immoderate blame, they can't unit him to beryllium disciplined, focused, and person a beardown will connected nan field.

Nothing resembled that Indy wasn't afloat astatine responsibility much than erstwhile Richardson tapped retired successful 2024 against nan Houston Texans because he was 'tired' from moving distant from defenders.

Both nan Colts and Richardson person made this matrimony a nightmare, but a subordinate that has performed, and conducted themselves, for illustration Richardson can't beryllium ignored.

The chances that nan Colts return connected his fifth-year action are small to none, and nan franchise is looking to Jones arsenic nan backmost of nan early much than anything.

It's pointless for Indy to support him unless he supernovas into an businesslike QB, which is highly improbable astatine this juncture.

I afloat expect nan Colts to waste and acquisition nan young section wide to get thing retired of him, alternatively than elite his fifth-year action truthful he tin beryllium down some Jones and Riley Leonard connected nan extent chart.

It's genuinely sad, but nan reality is that nan Colts and Richardson were ne'er meant to be, contempt that looking to beryllium nan lawsuit upon Shane Steichen getting hired.

The Bottom Line

This has been thing short of a dumpster occurrence betwixt nan Colts and Richardson, and it will spell down arsenic conscionable that whenever he's dealt disconnected to different squad that will effort to prime up nan pieces.

Indianapolis has been truthful hopeless for a backmost since Andrew Luck retired (2019) that they were consenting to plaything for nan fences connected a task for illustration Richardson.

Well, that task has failed, epically.

If aliases erstwhile nan Colts get free of Richardson, it will spell down arsenic nan zenith of mistakes made by nan franchise, and it's not moreover close.

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