The Indianapolis Colts are done with the 2025 NFL draft, which means attention turns back to their QB situation, a battle for the starting role between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones.
While it's not an ideal spot to be in, Indy had no choice but to add competition to press their fourth-overall investment Richardson into being better than his landslide 2024 campaign, which saw immense regression from his rookie season.
CBS Sports slams the Colts for their quarterback conundrum with Richardson and Jones. Garrett Podell broke it down in his critique.
"Anthony Richardson, the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, became just the fourth quarterback since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to lead the NFL in yards per completion (14.4) while ranking dead last in completion percentage (47.7%) in 2024," Poddell wrote. "He's the ultimate boom or bust quarterback in the NFL today: he has a cannon, but he desperately needs to become more accurate."
Poddell ranks the Colts as the second-worst quarterback room (now including Notre Dame's Riley Leonard) behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, Poddell isn't wrong about Richardson. The former Florida Gators field general had a completion percentage of 47.7 and threw 12 picks to only eight scores.
While Richardson is more than capable on the ground as a running asset, that's not what makes a quarterback successful in the pros. For Richardson in 2025, it's all about getting that completion percentage closer to 60 percent (or higher) while taking better care of the football.
Jones isn't far behind Richardson as far as performance. The former New York Giants signal-caller may be more accurate, but he won a measly three games over 2023 and 2024 while losing 13, for a win percentage of 18.6.
Jones didn't have the most support in the Meadowlands, but also played awful football at times while under center despite a lack of offensive line help and competent weapons for most of his tenure in the NFC.
Yes, the Colts brought in Jones with confidence he can push Richardson to be his best, but the brass are holding out hope that their draft investment from 2023 pans out. Otherwise, it's a complete lost cause that continues what has been a quarterback purgatory-type situation for Chris Ballard since Andrew Luck's abrupt retirement in 2019.
This is Richardson's last chance to claim the starting position before the Colts may hang it up on this experiment with the athletic quarterback. As for Jones, he might also be on his last leg. If the former Giant can't attain the starting role then he could be in store for a career-backup role.
Everything rides on Richardson's success, otherwise, things become incredibly murky for the entire Colts franchise moving forward. Can Richardson bounce back from a brutal second season in year three? That is the paramount question with zenith-level importance that holds much weight for the organization.
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The quarterback battle for Notre Dame is set to come to an end shortly, and it might be a surprise considering how the national media predicted the race to finish. Per Eric Hansen of On3, head coach Marcus Freeman is set to name the starting quarterback by Sunday when he meets the media. The Irish are still letting the quarterback battle play out until then, but it appears sophomore quarterback Kenny Minchey is the favorite to start at Hard Rock Stadium against the Miami Hurricanes on Aug. 31. Minchey has shown improvement in numerous areas throughout camp, and he has the edge on freshman quarterback CJ Carr in what is believed to be the final week of the competition. "As of Wednesday, the line between 1 and 2 remained blurred," Hansen wrote. "The tiebreaker may eventually go to Minchey, per the source, because of his ability to be a true running threat and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s preference to have that element to put pressure on opposing defenses. "But he also has a preference for QBs who can transcend adversity, and the training camp phase was choreographed to test precisely that. While both contenders responded persistently in a manner that defies their inexperience, Minchey has been exceptional in that regard." Throughout the summer, ESPN writers such as Bill Connelly and Mark Schlabach have written as though it were a forgone conclusion that Carr would win the battle in training camp. However, Minchey appears to be a natural fit for how offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock likes to scheme against a defense. He helped dual-threat Jayden Daniels earn a Heisman Trophy in 2023 and took Notre Dame to a national championship appearance with Riley Leonard. The battle isn't over, but the edge appears to be running Minchey's way.
The Las Vegas Raiders are set to face off against the San Francisco 49ers in their second preseason game. The game will take place at Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders are looking to come out and play a good game, especially with the first team offense. Raiders head coach Pete Carroll let it be known that the Raiders' starters will be playing in this game. The team's starters did not have a good outing in their first preseason game. The Silver and Black also released their second depth chart of 2025 this week. For the quarterback position, it is not a secret that Geno Smith is the starting quarterback. Aidan O'Connell is slated in as QB2, and Cam Miller is QB3. At the running back position, rookie Ashton Jeanty is the starter. Followed by Zamir White or Raheem Mostert as the No. 2 back. Chris Collier is the No. 3 running back. And Sincere McCormick and Dylan Laube are fourth on the depth chart. The starting wide receivers are Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, and Dont'e Thornton Jr. At tight end Brock Bowers is TE1 and Michael Mayer is second-team. On the offensive line, it is Jordan Meredith at center, Kolton Miller at left tackle, Dylan Parham at left guard, DJ Glaze at right tackle, and Jackson Powers-Johnson or Alex Cappa at right guard. The right guard position is where the battle is coming from. For the defense, Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce are the starters at the defensive end positions. Adam Butler and Jonah Laulu are your starting defensive tackles. Your linebackers are Germaine Pratt, Elandon Roberts, and Devin White. In the secondary, the Raiders have three cornerbacks listed as starters. Darnay Holmes, Darien Porter, and Eric Stokes. At the safety position, the Raiders' starters are Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn. The Raiders want to see what they have with their starting players on both sides of the ball. That chemistry is still getting built, and that is why you are going to see the starters play this week. The Raiders still have a lot to figure out for their starters and the depth pieces they have on the roster. It is going to be interesting to see which players play better this week and which players take the leap and show flashes. Check out the full depth chart here: Find us on X (formerly Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and Instagram @HondoSr and talk to us in 2025 about the Raiders and more. While here, check out our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE to discuss all Raiders content in 2025.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has been named in a lawsuit that was filed in Hawaii on Friday. Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, are being sued by a real estate investor and a broker in Hawaii who have accused Ohtani and Balelo of sabotaging a $240M real estate deal for a development on the Big Island. According to court documents that were obtained by Jimmy Golen of The Associated Press, real estate developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto say Ohtani and Balelo deliberately had them removed from the project “for no reason other than their own financial self-interest.” The lawsuit claims Ohtani was brought into the deal for his promotional value and that he and his agent pushed the founders of the project out using “threats and baseless legal claims.” “Defendants must be held accountable for their actions, not shielded by fame or behind-the-scenes agents acting with impunity,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiffs bring this suit to expose Defendants’ misconduct and to ensure that the rules of contract, fair dealing, and accountability apply equally to all — celebrity or not.” Hayes and Matsumoto have also accused Ohtani and Balelo of trying to push them out of a similar neighboring development project. The $240M Big Island development is located along Hapuna Beach, which is rated one of the top beaches in the world. Matsumoto was supposed to be the listing agent for the properties, which average more than $17.3M each. A brochure for the project stated that Ohtani, who was called “Japan’s Babe Ruth” has committed to buying one of the 14 properties and acting as a “celebrity spokesperson” for the development. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700M contract with the Dodgers prior to the 2024 season. The two-way star is having another monster year with a .284 average, 42 home runs, 78 RBI and a 1.013 OPS entering Tuesday. Ohtani has also returned to pitching this season and has a 2.37 ERA across 19 innings. Ohtani was also connected to a massive gambling scandal last year, though Major League Baseball determined that the 31-year-old was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
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