Sports

Easy choice for NFL insider on who Indianapolis Colts' starting quarterback should be

While the Indianapolis Colts are embracing competition at the quarterback position, ESPN’s NFL insider Field Yates believes that the team’s Week 1 starter is an obvious choice: it should be Anthony Richardson.

“It’s Anthony Richardson,” Yates said via Horseshoe Huddle, “because I believe in the NFL, the most dangerous place to be is stuck in the middle, and I think the Colts are probably stuck in the middle if Daniel Jones is their starting quarterback this season. Daniel Jones has had one stellar season in his career, but otherwise, we know who he is. He’s probably a replacement-level quarterback.

“Anthony Richardson has had two mediocre, albeit injury-impacted, seasons in his NFL career. There’s still a chance, a flicker of hope that Anthony Richardson could become a promising, young quarterback.”

With this being an open competition, the Colts are going to start whoever gives them the best chance to win, but internally, I would imagine that the hope is that it’s Richardson who seizes control of the job.

For one, there’s the investment that the Colts have made into him, but in addition to that, his ceiling is much higher than Jones’, who, to Yates’ point, we know who he is as a football player at this point in his career.

“The Colts owe it to not just Anthony, but to themselves as an organization, to exhaust every resource in figuring out if they have something or nothing,” Yates continued. “I don’t know if the chances at this point are strong or weak. Probably weaker more than they are stronger, but this is a player who they invested too much in to constantly use a short leash on Anthony Richardson. You’re in, or you’re out. You’re going down with the ship, or you’re not. So, to me, the Colts need to play Anthony Richardson to give themselves a credible snapshot of what this player can become during his NFL career.”

Yates is correct in that the Colts need to find out what they have with Richardson. GM Chris Ballard has also been adamant throughout the offseason that the team still believes in Richardson and that time is still needed as he navigates his own learning curve.

However, the decision to bring in competition is twofold. For starters, the hope is that it helps raise the level of urgency and, therefore, Richardson’s level of play. While not an apples-to-apples comparison, we did see Richardson respond well after being benched last season.

Another factor is that while Ballard has discussed the importance of being patient with Richardson, time isn’t on the GM’s side right now. After missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season in 2024, he is in win-now mode to save his job.

Through six training camp practices, Richardson has been building momentum in recent days. This offseason, he prioritized his footwork and being more accurate on the short to intermediate throws after completing just 47% of his overall passes last season, and the results of that work are now showing up on the practice field.

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Indianapolis Colts ‘need’ to play Anthony Richardson, says NFL insider

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