Anonymous NFL Execs, Coaches Doubting Colts' Anthony Richardson

It's safe to say there's a fair bit of skepticism surrounding the future of Anthony Richardson as a starting quarterback with the Indianapolis Colts.

Not just through the outside noise that Richardson has had to endure since facing his turbulence as the Colts' quarterback, but seemingly inside the NFL as well, with members of personnel casting major doubt on the former fourth-overall pick in The Athletic's recent "NFL QB Tier" voting; effectively sifting through anonymous coaches, coordinators, and execs to sort out the league's signal caller hierarchy before the 2025 season.

And for Richardson, the consensus remained pretty bleak. He found his way to becoming the 32nd-ranked signal caller in the NFL, right behind former Colts and now-Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco, who places one spot above him.

It doesn't stop there, though. Various NFL personnel members added a few comments to note on Richardson surrounding his status for next season, making it clear that there's not a ton of confidence in what he could bring to the table.

"He's a freaky athlete for his size, but he's been hurt every year because of it," an anonymous defensive coordinator said about Richardson. "Unless he is rearing back and throwing the ball as far as he can and somebody runs underneath it, he's not accurate and can't make any of those throws."

"They are not ready to say that they f---ed up, but they are hedging," said one defensive coach.

One NFL executive even called Richardson's success in the NFL "a pipe dream."

"I think it is a pipe dream right now, based on what I have seen, to say he is a starter in the NFL," the exec said. "The accuracy is not there. If you want to do college football RPO-type stuff, that is your guy. But some of the stuff last year was not starter quality."

In the mind of voters around the NFL ranking Richardson, "a vast majority" see Jones as the pending starter, with the potential for the Florida product's development into a franchise guy having been eroded after the tough sledding he's faced the two years he's been in the fold.

All of that taken into account, Richardson will certainly be under some significant scrutiny if things don't pan out quickly, in the event he's named the Week One starter. Though if he's able to make the worthwhile strides in his play style between his accuracy issues, turnover calamities, and the inconsistent availability, there's a world where the narrative around his future as an NFL starter can shift drastically.