Shane Steichen made it official Wednesday: Anthony Richardson is QB2 for the Colts to start the season, behind Daniel Jones. It's a strange landing spot for a former No. 4 overall pick, and it caps a stretch that felt like it was building toward Richardson playing anywhere but Indianapolis.
#Colts coach Shane Steichen makes clear that former first-rounder Anthony Richardson Sr. will be their backup QB behind Daniel Jones.
Rewind to February. Richardson requested a trade after the Colts moved to re-sign Daniel Jones, who'd taken over the starting job and led the team down the stretch. The writing was on the wall for Richardson, the guy Indy took 4th overall in the 2023 draft and handed a fully guaranteed rookie deal to develop into a franchise quarterback. Instead, Jones got the multiyear deal and the keys.
Reportedly, nothing close to real trade interest ever materialized — talk around the league pegged his value at more like a Day 3 pick. So Richardson stuck around, spent camp and the preseason in a battle for the primary backup job, and according to Mike Chappell, simply won it: Steichen cited a better preseason and "continued growth" as the deciding factors.
Colts' Shane Steichen's going with Anthony Richardson Sr. as Daniel Jones' backup. Mentioned he had a better preaseason and has shown continued growth.
Mike Garafolo framed the arc well — trade request in February to confirmed QB2 in September is about as public a demotion-then-stabilization as it gets for a former top-5 pick. There's no dressing that up. But Richardson, for his part, isn't running from it.
Anthony Richardson: I'm thankful the Colts believe in me enough to make me QB2. t.co/fRa5kHgyVz
"I'm thankful the Colts believe in me enough to make me QB2," Richardson said, according to Pro Football Talk — a notably measured response for a guy who was trying to get out of town six months ago. Whether that's genuine buy-in or just making the best of a stalled trade market is the real story to watch now. Jones is QB1 as long as he's healthy and playing well, but if he goes down, Indy is trusting its once-untouchable prospect to be ready on a moment's notice.