Anthony Richardson’s grip on a Colts roster spot is slipping fast, and the latest training camp stretch isn’t doing him any favors.
Indianapolis has apparently explored the idea of moving on from the quarterback, though how aggressively the team has tried to trade him isn’t known. Richardson asked to be dealt early in the offseason, but nothing meaningful came together, and he remains in Indy for now. That leaves the Colts with a blunt question: is there any real reason to keep him?
On the field, the answer looks tougher to find by the day. Richardson has flashed the big arm that made him such a high-profile pick, but that’s been paired with the kind of inconsistency that has followed him for three years.
This camp has only added to the problem. He’s been inaccurate, and one of the most troubling issues has been something far more basic: trouble handling the snap from center.
It hasn’t happened once. It’s happened multiple times.
That kind of mistake is hard to overlook, especially for a quarterback entering his fourth season. Richardson has worked under Shane Steichen the entire time, so this isn’t a case of learning a brand-new system.
He should have these things down by now. Instead, he’s still making strange decisions from snap to snap, struggling with pass-block assignments, and frequently choosing the wrong path or the wrong check-down when the pressure comes.
That last issue showed up in a costly way last preseason, when he injured his finger.
The Colts don’t need to keep him out of obligation. Only 53 players make the active roster, and every one of them has to earn the spot.
Richardson’s play hasn’t justified one. If he were a late-round pick instead of a first-rounder, he might already be gone.
A trade would bring back $5,385,549 in savings, according to Over the Cap. Cutting him would save nothing.
But this doesn’t look like a money decision. Indianapolis still has plenty of cash available in free agency, even if it doesn’t appear eager to use it on an extra wide receiver or edge rusher.
That creates a different problem: if the Colts aren’t adding proven help at those spots, they need room for the players already in the building to fight for roles.
Right now, Richardson is occupying one of those spots without giving the team enough reason to keep it. The Colts would be better off letting him go, moving Riley Leonard into the backup role behind Daniel Jones, and ending the experiment rather than waiting for a turnaround that doesn’t seem to be coming.
Forget the trade market. Richardson doesn’t look like a player who’s about to improve. If Indianapolis is going to move on, it may as well do it now instead of dragging this out until free agency next year.
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