Colts' Anthony Richardson Sr. continues to get bad news about a possible trade

The song remains the same regarding the uncertain future of Indianapolis Colts backup quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. this offseason. Richardson seemingly wants a fresh start elsewhere now that he has lost the Indianapolis starting job to Daniel Jones, but there continues to be no indication any team is all that interested in the 2023 first-round draft pick. 

On Monday morning, NFL insider Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom US shared more bad news about Richardson's short-term future. 

How do teams view Anthony Richardson Sr. amid trade rumors?

"The interest has been very minimal," La Canfora wrote about Richardson. "The market was flooded with other former first-round picks available for the veteran minimum, working against what was an already-limited market for Richardson, and some teams are also shying away for health issues." 

Richardson missed 17 regular-season games due to injuries from 2023 through the 2024 campaign. He then officially lost the QB1 job to Jones last summer, and Richardson later suffered an orbital fracture during a pregame warmup this past October. 

While Jones suffered a torn Achilles on Dec. 7, 2025, he seems serious about being back in the Indianapolis lineup for Week 1 of the 2026 season. He signed a two-year, $88M deal that could be worth up to $100M this offseason, but the Colts presumably would start 2025 sixth-round pick Riley Leonard if Jones isn't cleared this coming September. 

Other than health, what worries teams about Anthony Richardson Sr.?

The Cleveland Browns reportedly won't be trading for Richardson before or after the upcoming draft wraps up. While the Pittsburgh Steelers are still waiting to learn if Aaron Rodgers will return for another campaign, there hasn't been any sign that Pittsburgh would want to start Richardson over longtime backup Mason Rudolph or developmental prospect Will Howard. 

"League sources indicated that there is some concern about Richardson being able to see the field clearly and that, coupled with his difficulties developing at the NFL level and being able to run the entire scale of a voluminous offense, have resulted in him being stuck with Indianapolis for now," La Canfora added. "Richardson came from a very rudimentary offense in college at Florida, he had a very limited body of work before reaching the NFL and he has missed so much valuable practice and playing time since being drafted due to injury."

In February, Colts general manager Chris Ballard suggested that Richardson could still have a future with the club. Perhaps Ballard understands that Richardson doesn't have much value as a tradeable asset at this time.