Story this week that the Colts and Anthony Richardson have "mutually agreed to explore a trade." It's a funny way to present the information that the Colts are dumping their former first-round pick. I think the market will be very cool.
Richardson showed some potential as a rookie, but it was a really small sample set before he got shelved due to injury. He then started most of the 2024 season, with poor results (and again got hurt). In 2025, he was beaten out by Daniel Jones in the preseason. And then sustained a freak injury in pregame warmups, knocking him out for the year.
Richardson's only 23 years old and has that killer first initial and last name, but I'm not sure what reason there is to think he has an NFL future. We've got 12 full games, not a huge number, but showing little enough as a passer to think he's definitely on the Justin Fields career track.
Game log from his full contests in 2023 and 2024 is shown below. He completed more than half of his passes in three of those games, and passed for more than 200 yards in four of them. His lone game with even 225 passing yards was against the Jets. He threw more interceptions than touchdowns (13-11).
| ANTHONY RICHARDSON GAME LOG | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Pass | TD | Int | Run | TD |
| 2023 | Jac. | 24 | 37 | 64.9 | 223 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 1 |
| 2023 | LAR | 11 | 25 | 44 | 200 | 2 | 0 | 56 | 1 |
| 2024 | Hou. | 9 | 19 | 47.4 | 212 | 2 | 1 | 56 | 1 |
| 2024 | at G.B. | 17 | 34 | 50 | 204 | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 |
| 2024 | Chi. | 10 | 20 | 50 | 167 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 0 |
| 2024 | Mia. | 10 | 24 | 41.7 | 129 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 0 |
| 2024 | at Hou. | 10 | 32 | 31.3 | 175 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 0 |
| 2024 | at NYJ | 20 | 30 | 66.7 | 272 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
| 2024 | Det. | 11 | 28 | 39.3 | 172 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 0 |
| 2024 | at N.E. | 12 | 24 | 50 | 109 | 2 | 2 | 48 | 1 |
| 2024 | DEN | 17 | 38 | 44.7 | 172 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 1 |
| 2024 | Ten. | 7 | 11 | 63.6 | 131 | 1 | 1 | 70 | 1 |
| Average | 13 | 27 | 49.4 | 181 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 48 | 0.7 | |
We have an interest in Richardson in fantasy leagues for the same reason we talk about Fields. He runs a ton, averaging 48 rushing yards and with 8 TDs in 12 contests. If he at some point starts a game, he must be considered a candidate for top 10 numbers in typical leagues.
But I'm comfortable saying that no one is going to trade for him and install him as their starter. (If we want to name a favorite, how about the Jets, who don't have a quarterback, previously brought in Fields, and saw Richardson have the best game of his career against them; there's just enough there to suggest they'll make yet another mistake at the position.)
And how much value does a running quarterback who's missed time due to five different injuries (shoulder, concussion, hip, back, eye) while starting a total of 15 games really have anyway?
Perhaps there will be a late pick thrown the Colts' way, but I don't think it's a given. Richardson will make $5.4 million in 2026 on the terms of his rookie deal, which isn't a huge sum for a backup quarterback, but seems to be a lot for a pretty sketchy insurance policy behind a starter. Especially if Richardson or his representatives believe he should be starting; is that a controversy many teams will want to take on? Debatable.
If I had Richardson in a dynasty league, I'd be moving him, if possible. I don't think he'll be starting anywhere this year.
--Andy Richardson
