INDIANAPOLIS — The biggest quarterback decision facing the Indianapolis Colts in 2026 has already been made.
The team has concluded that re-signing Daniel Jones and leaning on him as their starting quarterback — despite the torn Achilles tendon he suffered in early December — is the best course of action.
Additionally, there is growing belief that Riley Leonard has shown enough coming off of his rookie year to be a No. 2 quarterback based on his performance in practice and in his lone start against the Houston Texans in the season finale.
All of which brings us to the matter of 2023 first-round pick Anthony Richardson Sr. and his future — to the extent he has one in Indianapolis.
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After his temporary benching in 2024, and given last season’s decision to start Jones after a preseason position battle, Richardson’s path forward with the Colts is as complicated as ever.
There has been no trade request made from Richardson, sources told ESPN, but multiple sources have called into question whether there is a way forward for Richardson in Indianapolis.
Richardson played just five snaps in 2025, ending the season on injured reserve following a freak pregame warmup accident that left him with a fractured orbital bone and an eye injury.
Publicly, the Colts’ brass has remained neutral on what lies ahead for Richardson. That makes him the only quarterback on the roster to whom they’ve made no commitment.
Asked last month whether it was time for a split, general manager Chris Ballard conceded, “That’s a very fair question.” He did not offer a specific answer, saying, “We’ll kind of see going forward how that ends up playing out.” Coach Shane Steichen has taken a similar approach.
Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon, asked about Richardson’s future last month, said, “I think I’m going to stay in my lane on that one. But I feel horrible for Anthony with the injuries that he’s had to endure, and I know [Ballard] and [Steichen] are going to do the right thing.”
Richardson was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft, selected by the Colts as the player they hoped could end their yearslong search for a long-term replacement for Andrew Luck. Richardson began his rookie season as the starting quarterback but sustained a season-ending shoulder injury after four promising games.
But the 2024 season was a setback, considering Richardson’s inconsistency. He had a league-worst 47.7% completion rate and threw 12 interceptions despite going 6-5 as a starter. He was benched at midseason for veteran Joe Flacco but reinstated as the starter three weeks later when Flacco and the offense stalled. Richardson engineered game-winning drives against the New York Jets and New England Patriots after his return but lost his momentum when a back issue sidelined him for the final two games.
That’s when Ballard vowed to add competition to the quarterback unit, which led to the signing of Jones. Now, the team’s intent is for Jones to be the starter for the foreseeable future.
Richardson has remained positive in spite of these realities. He said before the Colts’ season finale that he wasn’t focused on 2026.
“I haven’t necessarily thought about my future here because I don’t see anything wrong right now,” Richardson said. “Setbacks happen. The injury to my eye, that kind of happened. So, that kind of dictated what happened throughout the season. But I haven’t really put too much thought into anything because I’ve been taking it day-by-day and just working.”
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Richardson has one season remaining on his rookie contract, assuming the Colts decline to exercise his 2027 fifth-year option. (May 1 is the deadline.) Richardson is owed a $4.24 million roster bonus in August and is scheduled to count $10.82 million against the salary cap in 2026. Should the Colts trade him before June 1, they would save $5.385 million against the salary cap.
Assuming Richardson is fully healed from the facial injury, he figures to have some value. Each of the following quarterbacks were traded for draft-pick compensation in the past two seasons: Kenny Pickett (twice), Sam Howell (twice), Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Malik Willis and Taylor Heinicke.
Richardson certainly thinks he has something to offer. After the improvement he showed during last training camp in his battle with Jones, and considering he is still so young (he won’t turn 24 until May), he remains bullish about his future.
Asked whether he can still fulfill the potential he was believed to have when he became a top-five pick, he didn’t waver.
“No doubt,” Richardson said. “If I’ve still got a chance to play football, then it’s always out there.”
