The fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft is in danger of landing third on the Indianapolis depth chart.
Although the widespread social-media buzz that quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. already has been demoted to No. 3 behind Daniel Jones and Riley Leonard may be premature, at a minimum he’s still competing with Leonard for the QB2 slot.
An offseason effort by Richardson and the Colts to find a trade partner went nowhere. With his 2026 compensation ($5.385 million) fully guaranteed, the Colts have no reason to cut him, since they’ll still be paying him. (At most, they’d save $1.145 million if/when he signs elsewhere for the fourth-year minimum salary.)
Even if there’s no trade to be done for now, one injury elsewhere could be the spark. Likewise, an injury to Jones or Leonard would elevate his importance to the Colts.
That’s why the Colts intend to keep all three into the regular season. With the trade deadline landing the Tuesday after Week 9, there’s still a chance that the Colts could get something of value in return for what has been a failed first-round pick.
Richardson entered the NFL as a highly-talented prospect with limited college reps. In three seasons, he has 16 regular-season appearances with 14 starts.
The preseason looms large for Richardson. If he performs well, that could generate interest in a trade. At a minimum, it could move him higher on the list of available options if/when a team loses its starter or backup due to injury.
For now, the point is this — one year after Richardson lost the starting job in camp to Jones, Richardson could be losing the backup job to Leonard, whose chance to replace Jones as the starter in December was short-circuited by the unretirement of Philip Rivers.
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