The Anthony Richardson Sr. experiment in Indianapolis is reaching a disappointing conclusion.
But Richardson is still 23 years old and has the bulk of his career still in front of him. While he’s fallen on his face more times than once in his first three seasons, if he takes his mistakes in stride, Richardson can still become a franchise quarterback, according to ESPN’s Jason Reid.
“One doesn’t have to be a hard-charging head coach or a grizzled player-personnel boss to realize that Richardson hasn’t gotten the job done…If Richardson hopes to change that, he’ll first need to convince Steichen to believe in him once more,” Reid wrote, saying Richardson’s future is in nobody’s hands but his own.
Reid spoke with quarterback guru Quincy Avery, who says Richardson has to start by addressing the man in the mirror.
“There's no question that he’s talented. But there’s a lot more that goes into it. There’s a lot that goes into it behind the scenes that they [fans] don’t see,” Avery said in a phone interview with Reid.
“From the outside looking in, I don’t know what’s going on in the building that would [lead to Richardson being benched again], but you don’t make this type of decision, with someone like him, just on that [film]. He was a No. 4 pick in the draft. They want him to be successful.”
The Colts took Richardson knowing he had work to do. They drafted him off what he could be, not what he was as a prospect. There was going to be an expected learning curve, but perhaps that curve was steeper than anticipated.
Neither Richardson nor the Colts staff have pulled the right strings to create his success. Injuries. The infamous tap-out. Being benched twice. It’s why the Colts switched to Daniel Jones as their 2025 starter, a sign that they're throwing in the towel on their former top-five pick.
Richardson may or may not be done in Indianapolis. Regardless, if he can get himself in line, then there’s a window to become a starter anywhere in the league.
The ball is now in his court.