With the Colts just weeks away from their season opener at home against the Dolphins, their quarterback situation isn’t any clearer than it was entering training camp. Both Anthony Richardson Sr. and Daniel Jones continue to battle for the starting job, with neither emerging as a clear favorite.
The Colts took a big swing on Richardson when they drafted him in 2023 to be their franchise guy. Two years in, things haven’t gone to plan, forcing the team to bring Jones in as competition.
The current QB competition is Richardson’s to lose. The media isn’t very confident that Richardson can become the guy Indy needs him to be. Jared Dubin of CBS Sports thinks that quarterback play is the Colts’ biggest challenge to overcome in 2025.
“An Anthony Richardson vs. Daniel Jones quarterback competition wasn’t all that inspiring to begin with. But now Richardson dislocated his pinky and we don’t know when he’ll be full strength,” Dubin wrote. “Even at full strength, he’s still a major question mark at this point. And if Jones has to start, then what are the Colts even trying to accomplish in the big picture other than potentially saving Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen’s jobs with a going-nowhere wild card playoff run?”
According to Dubin, the Colts need Richardson to improve massively. Otherwise, it’s time to start over.
“This is a team that needs Richardson to hit big, or to just hit the reset button.”
Simply put, Shane Steichen’s offense is tailored much more to Richardson than it is to Jones. Indy will never reach their potential as a team if Jones is under center, nor is he a long-term option at quarterback.
Richardson was always going to be a roll of the dice for whichever team drafted him given his raw ability and inexperience coming out of Florida. The Colts just haven’t been able to fully unlock his potential.
If 2025 is not a significant step forward from 2024, then the franchise may be forced to rebuild from the ground up.
