Colts' Anthony Richardson Sr. QB Coach has 'Tried Everything' He Can

This thrust the NFL world into a tailspin, with many believing the franchise had mishandled the former fourth-overall pick and failing him up to this point in his short professional career. While there are plenty of things to debate with this quarterback decision, it's clear that Shane Ste ichen has the 2025 season in mind, rather than the future.

The coaching staff was grilled by the local media about this decision. One position coach stood out: quarterbacks coach Cam Turner, who, by all accounts, deserves the most blame for the inefficient development of Richardson.

Turner was hired due to his experience with names like Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers) and Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals). Various esteemed members of the Indianapolis media got their questions in, starting with Jake Arthur of Locked on Colts and Indianapolis Colts on SI.

Arthur asked, 'What led you to get to Daniel Jones after a lengthy quarterback battle?' Turner's reply was regarding the veteran's consistency.

'I think, the consistency is the big thing that shows up. Just his approach, his operation at the line. Consistent, accuracy, and overall decision making. He did a good job, all throughout camp.'

Interesting answer from Turner, considering that Jones didn't greatly separate himself from Richardson. Also, the former Florida Gator was having a great training camp and often looked better than Jones did.

The next questions came from IndyStar's own Nate Adkins. The first was, 'Are you convinced that Anthony wants to be here and be a backup quarterback?' Turner answered with gusto, 'I think he wants to be here. You know just speaking with him, just going off his actions in our meetings. He's locked in and he's in a good place mentally, and I see no issues with that.'

This is in direct contrast to what Richardson's agent, Deiric Jackson, had to say after his client was announced as the backup to Jones. The prominent quote was to ESPN's Stephen Holder, saying, 'We have a lot to discuss... Trust is a big factor and that is, at best, questionable right now.'

Turner might not be Steichen or offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, but he works closely with Richardson constantly, so his words need to be taken seriously. He's also underperformed if Richardson can't beat out Jones.

Perhaps Jackson is amplifying things, but it would make sense for Richardson and his representation to request a trade if they're unhappy with how things have unfolded.

Adkins threw out another great one, asking 'When you guys drafted Anthony, obviously the plan was never to get to this point, bench him a second time. Looking back, do you guys feel like, did you guys fail Anthony? Did he fail you? Did you fail each other?'

Turner replied in the face of a tough question with, 'I mean no, as a position coach, you wanna see your guy succeed, and be successful naturally. I feel like I've tried everything I can do, and I feel like he's given great effort in that aspect too.'

He followed this with, 'I don't think, either way, it's one or the other. I just think right now, it's not where, the consistency's just not where we want it to be.'

If anyone is curious if Turner was nervous, refer to the 'I feel like I've tried everything I can do' comment, and you'll get that the media forced him to answer regarding such a crazy situation.

Turner is indicating that Richardson's on-field play hasn't been up to par and that Jones is the more efficient option with this comment. It's a fair assessment, but also one that the Colts knew they were getting when they drafted Richardson as the rawest quarterback prospect in recent NFL memory.

While Jones wasn't the QB in 2023 (Gardner Minshew) or 2024 (Joe Flacco), Richardson's development with the Colts has been a disaster. While there is definitely blame on Richardson for his lack of awareness to preparation, brutally bad accuracy, and issues with injuries, it's hard n ot to also bring the Colts' organization into the conversation.

Chris Ballard committed to Richardson and even criticized those in the league who aren't patient enough. However, the team is giving up on him after this comment.

When it's all said and done, Turner's comments hit both sides of the coin.

First: Richardson hasn't progressed or developed enough. Mostly due to his issues with injuries and the lack of ability to read NFL defenses. But, as mentioned before, the Colts knew what they were taking a franchise-level swing at with Richardson, and Turner has done the prospect zero favors.

Second: This is a win-now season, and seemingly out of nowhere. Hence, the decision for Jones to start.

This is an incredibly mountainous decision, and Steichen's job might hang in the balance. But what if the new ownership with the Irsay sisters has given Steichen and Ballard more slack? What if Jones is Sam Darnold and has a career resurgence, but Indy's willing to let him walk in free agency like the 2024 Pro Bowler, trusting that sitting Richardson was the best choice?

There's so much to unpack from this astronomical circumstance, and so many jobs potentially are on the line. Expect this storyline to dominate NFL headlines for the foreseeable future.

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