Anthony Richardson only has a slight path to being the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. General manager Chris Ballard wants to rerun what happened in 2025, and he might have implied his clear stance about Richardson's future recently in just six words.
Those words? "You never know what's gonna happen."
To be fair to Ballard, he cannot truly know Richardson's future any more than anyone else at this point. The reason is that the quarterback simply gets hurt too much to truly indicate how good he could be. In the limited time he has played, he hasn't been good. He's been an inaccurate passer and a poor on-field decision-maker.
Six words was all it took to define Indianapolis Colts' Anthony Richardson
The quarterback is entering the final year of his rookie contract, though the team holds a fifth-year option on Richardson since he was a first-round draft pick in 2023, the fourth player taken overall. Indianapolis has until May 1 to pick up that option, but that shouldn't be a difficult decision.
The Colts should not have Richardson around for a fifth season. Doing so would apply a cap hit of $23 million on the quarterback. Should Chris Ballard exercise the option, he should immediately be asked into ownership's office and given his walking papers.
The real hope is that AR5 is no more than QB3 in 2025, assuming he isn't traded before the season begins. Indy wants Daniel Jones to come back on a long-term deal to be the starter, and has Riley Leonard entering his second season.
Leonard was good in Week 18, his only start of the season, and he was good against a great defense for the Houston Texans. He proved he had learned his lessons from head coach Shane Steichen well and applied them when given the opportunity. He should be given the chance to be QB2.
Chris Ballard did make it clear that Anthony Richardson is a good teammate, and the GM knew that and "some" of the quarterback's teammates knew that, too. But pointing out someone is a good player in the locker room is less important than earning the trust of one's teammates with production on the field.
In other words, the Indianapolis Colts could be paying Anthony Richardson $10 million in 2025 to stand on the sidelines and be a good teammate by cheering on his fellow players. That isn't the way the quarterback was supposed to hold a position spot, and he would be better served by playing elsewhere with a real chance to play.