Colts offseason checklist: Who will be Anthony Richardson's competition at QB?

With the new league year kicking off March 12, NFL teams are already deep into planning for the offseason.

Here are five moves the Indianapolis Colts should make in the coming months.

1. Add competition for quarterback Anthony Richardson

The No. 4 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft had a disastrous sophomore NFL season. Per NFL Pro, his 61.6 passer rating was the third-worst by a quarterback with at least 250 pass attempts since 2010. He finished the season with a 47.7% completion percentage, 1,814 passing yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 11 starts.

Richardson's poor passing numbers outweigh his positive contributions as a runner, leaving him without a grace period in 2025. If his struggles continue, Indianapolis will need a better fallback option than veteran Joe Flacco, who filled in for Richardson last season but couldn't replicate his magical 2023 run with the Browns.

Indianapolis has few good options in a thin quarterback free-agent class, but it can't go into 2025 with the same quarterback situation as 2024.

2. Re-sign guard Will Fries and center Ryan Kelly

Both free-agent linemen battled injuries in 2024, but the Colts are unlikely to find better options for either elsewhere. Kelly, suffered multiple injuries that forced him to miss seven games last season and could come at a discount.

Fries played five games before suffering a fractured tibula. The 2021 seventh-rounder was in the midst of his best season prior to the injury and is due for a sizable raise. Per CBS Sports, after earning a six-figure average salary from 2021-24, his next contract's projected average annual value (AAV) is $14.1M.

The Colts have an excellent run-blocking offensive line anchored by left guard Quenton Nelson, and maintaining continuity by retaining Fries and Kelly could be the best way to ensure that it's a strength again in 2025.

3. Allow safety Julian Blackmon to exit in free agency

If Blackmon is amenable to a deal similar to the one-year, $3.7M contract he signed last offseason, the Colts should consider it. The five-year veteran recorded seven interceptions over the past two seasons, but Blackmon's 2024 usage didn't accentuate his strengths.

Playing primarily free safety, Blackmon didn't make nearly as positive of a difference as in 2023, when he played most of his snaps in the box.

Blackmon's 15.2 missed tackle rate was the 11th-highest among 68 safeties who played at least 600 defensive snaps in 2024. (h/t PFF) 

A season after tallying 35 stops, defined by NFL Pro as plays that result in negative expected points added (EPA) for the offense, Blackmon only recorded 16 in 2024. 

When the nearest defender in coverage, Blackmon allowed 19 receptions on 23 targets, a catch rate of 82.1% (15.1 percentage points higher than expected).

Blackmon, 26, can be valuable on the right team. However, based on how Indianapolis used him in 2024, a split could benefit both.

4. Extend edge-rusher Kwity Paye, re-sign Dayo Odeyingbo

Paye and Odeyingbo didn't have gaudy sack numbers (they combined for 11), but both are explosive off the line, making them valuable as pass-rushers. Per NFL Pro data, the Colts had the league's quickest get-off time, which is defined by how quickly (in seconds) a defender averages crossing the line of scrimmage, at 0.78 seconds.

Paye's get-off time was 0.77s, tied with Cowboys All-Pro edge Micah Parsons for the fifth-quickest time among qualified defensive linemen. 

Odeyingbo was tied for 12th in the same metric (0.82s), tied with 2022 No. 1 overall pick Jaguars edge Travon Walker and Texans edge Danielle Hunter. 

Paye is scheduled to play on his rookie fifth-year option this upcoming season, while Odeyingbo is a pending unrestricted free agent. The Colts need to keep both in Indy for the long term.

5. Draft a tight end

Could one of Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland fall to No. 14? It's likely. According to Stathead, the last time two tight ends were selected in the top 14 of the NFL Draft was in 1980, when the Falcons selected Nebraska tight end Junior Miller (No. 7) and the 49ers drafted Rice tight end Earl Cooper (No. 13).

Colts tight ends combined for 39 receptions, 467 yards and two touchdowns in 2024, led by pending free agents Kylen Granson and Mo Alie-Cox. If Warren or Loveland slides to 14th, the Colts should rush their pick to the podium.