Colts seem committed to QB competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones

Many times, teams keep talking about a quarterback competition when there really isn’t one. For example, Brett Rypien or anyone else on the roster has no chance of beating out a healthy J.J. McCarthy on the Minnesota Vikings, yet the Vikings keep pushing that there’s a competition.

In some ways, it doesn’t make sense that the Indianapolis Colts would be making Anthony Richardson compete for a starting spot. Richardson has been a disappointment since he was the fourth pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, but the Colts knew Richardson needed development when they drafted him. Preparing to perhaps start someone else after Richardson has had just 15 career starts seems a little foolish.

Yet, the Colts haven’t wavered this offseason. They wanted competition for Richardson so they signed Daniel Jones to a one-year, $14 million deal. They have said repeatedly that Richardson and Jones will compete. And Colts coach Shane Steichen doubled down on that Monday at the NFL’s annual league meeting, saying the two quarterbacks will split starting practice reps to begin the offseason.

Advertisement

“They’re going to split the (first team) reps through practice and going into training camp, and really, it’s going to come down to who’s the most consistent, who’s the most productive, will be the starter,” Steichen said, via Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star.

Steichen has said in the past that Richardson needs reps, and that should be obvious. The biggest knock on him coming out of college is that he started just 13 games at Florida. Most of his rookie season was wiped out due to injury. Richardson’s stunning physical ability is why he was drafted so high, but he needed work. And now he’ll get half of the practice repetitions with the starters this offseason.

“He’s going to have to take advantage of the reps that he gets,” Steichen said, vie the Indianapolis Star.

It’s hard to see how a quarterback competition makes much sense for the Colts. Perhaps it motivates Richardson, but there’s an obvious drawback in having Jones take half of his practice reps with the first team. There’s very little upside in Jones, who was benched and cut by a quarterback-needy Giants team last season. It’s hard to envision a scenario in which Jones, on a one-year deal, plays that much better than he did with the Giants and becomes a viable franchise quarterback for the Colts.

Advertisement

It’s getting harder to picture Richardson as that player either, after he completed just 47.7% of his passes last season, but it’s hard to close the door after less than a full season of NFL starts. The problem is likely that general manager Chris Ballard and Steichen are concerned they can’t survive another losing season with Richardson struggling as the starter. At least Jones would give them a predictable (though pretty low), floor. He doesn’t have anywhere near the upside Richardson has, but seeing that through would be risky after he struggled last season.

Presumably, the Colts want Richardson to react well to competition, win the job and show some more of the promise he briefly flashed his rookie season. It just seems odd to be pushing Jones as a viable competitor for the starting spot, and cutting Richardson’s reps to prove that point. Richardson was always going to be a long-term project. The Colts seem to have lost the patience that was going to be required when they drafted him.