Colts Possibly Headed for New Signal-Caller

The Indianapolis Colts are amid a burning quarterback competition between Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson, the latter of whom fell apart last season, prompting Chris Ballard to take the QB battle idea and turn it into a reality.

While Richardson was a bottom-dweller of the NFL in terms of accuracy in 2024, all hope isn't lost quite yet. With that being said, 2025 (his third season) might be the former Florida Gator's last shot at starting under center and establishing himself as a legitimate leader.

But, if both Richardson and Jones don't pan out, Indianapolis might have to look to the future and get their next signal-caller in the 2026 NFL draft. Fox Sports has Carmen Vitali on the side of Indy possibly needing a new quarterback.

"Are two projects better than one? At least the Colts have options, but no one will be surprised if they're looking for a QB reset next offseason. But this is a regime needing to win now and a franchise that hasn't drafted in the top 10 the past two years because it's won a combined 17 games. In other words, the field to move up could become extremely competitive come the first night of next year's draft."

This scenario would be crippling for the Colts, who haven't been able to secure a solid quarterback option since the abrupt retirement of their former number one overall pick Andrew Luck in 2019.

Following Luck were names that didn't pan out like Jacoby Brissett, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan. If Richardson ends up losing this quarterback duel with Jones, it's already a bad situation. However, if it happens twice in the same season and the Colts whiff on the playoffs again, they would have no choice but to set their eyes on the quarterback horizon yet again.

Indy has seen Richardson do the necessary work through the 2025 offseason to improve his performance to match his unreal potential. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he can make this happen, but confidence is less due to last year.

Indianapolis hopes that it can have a franchise quarterback in Richardson. They might have signed Jones and respect his athleticism and fit with Shane Steichen's offense, but they'd prefer Richardson to work out for now and going forward.

The Indianapolis and national media will be ready to cover the Richardson and Jones tilt for starting quarterback. Once the 2025 season is all said and done, Indianapolis won't want to have to seek another starting quarterback, drafting a rookie to try and steer the franchise in the right direction following a hypothetical rebuild.

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