INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson finds himself in the same position he wanted to shed earlier this year.
He's still on the roster, still battling Riley Leonard for the backup job to Daniel Jones.
No, this is not what Richardson or the Colts envisioned as the former Florida star entered his fourth pro season, again trying to prove he can stay healthy, be productive and become the franchise quarterback Indy thought it selected with the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2023.
“I'm here right now trying to make sure I can stamp my foot on this team and be the best version of myself I can be," Richardson said Sunday at training camp in suburban Indianapolis. “I'm just ready to showcase what I can do and be a winning piece to help the team.”
Richardson sounds content, for now, even though he requested and received permission to find a trade partner during the offseason.
But because general manager Chris Ballard still believes Richardson can reach the potential the Colts saw in college, he's not willing to cut ties that easily.
“We’re not just giving him away, we're not going to do that,” Ballard said when players first reported to camp. "He is a great teammate and he’s fun to be around. He has really grown and worked. It’s been fun to watch, especially when you take a guy as high as we took him, you want him to come in and be the savior right away. Well, everybody’s developmental plan is different, and his was a little different. I still think he has got a future. We’ll see how that plays out here.”
But as Richardson tries to right the ship, his first two weeks of camp have been up and down.
On Sunday, he led his unit to a touchdown in the two-minute drill. Last week, though, he struggled to catch snaps out of the shotgun.
And it's that kind of inconsistency that's coach Shane Steichen wants to see fixed before naming Richardson QB2.
The athletic, strong-armed 6-foot-4, 244-pound Richardson won the starting job in camp as a rookie, but he managed to play in only four games that season. In 2024, he appeared in 11 of 17 games, posting the lowest completion percentage (47.7%) of any regular starter in the league. He was also benched for two games after pulling himself out of a game because he was “tired.”
So in 2025, the Colts signed Jones to compete with Richardson to be the starter.
It was no contest. Jones won the job and played so well through Indy's first nine games he became part of the MVP conversation. Jones struggled after breaking a bone in his left leg in November and suffered a season-ending torn right Achilles tendon in December.
Richardson, meanwhile, missed the final 12 games because of a fractured orbital bone.
Leonard made his NFL starting debut in the Colts season-finale, and when the Colts re-signed Jones to a two-year, $88 million in March, they set up the competition between Leonard and Richardson.
“I think maybe this camp, I've taken a step further in understanding what the defense is doing a lot better," Leonard said while calling Richardson a “great friend.” "When you get to know the offense for a whole year, you don't have to think about things as much and it saves you time. If you break the huddle at 15 seconds, I feel like last year I spent the first eight seconds figuring out what the motions were and who was supposed to be where. Now I'm able to save those eight seconds and really figure out what the defense is doing and get my eyes up.”
Will that be enough to win the No. 2 job?
Time will tell.
“If that's what the team wants, that's what I want. I just want to help the team," Richardson said when asked if he thought he'd stay in Indy all season. “Regardless, if I'm with the first, second or third team, my reps count. I've got to make them count. I feel if I put my best foot forward, then the team will make a decision that's for the betterment of the team.”
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