Did Colts fail Anthony Richardson Sr.? Indianapolis coach speaks out

Even before the Indianapolis Colts confirmed that free-agency signing Daniel Jones will be their Week 1 starting quarterback over Anthony Richardson Sr., some suggested the Colts have failed Richardson ever since they made him the fourth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Colts quarterbacks coach Cam Turner was essentially asked who is to blame for why Richardson has thus far flopped so badly as a pro.

"As a position coach, you want to see your guys succeed and be successful, naturally," Turner said, as shared by Steven Taranto of CBS Sports. "I feel like I've tried everything I can do, and I feel like he's given great effort in that aspect, too. I don't think either way, it's one or the other. I just think right now, the consistency is just not where we want it to be."

Back in December 2024, Colts general manager Chris Ballard acknowledged that he regretted the club naming Richardson its 2023 Week 1 QB1 after the signal-caller made just 13 college starts with the Florida Gators. Richardson has since missed 17 regular-season games due to injury, and he was temporarily benched last fall after he took himself out of a contest because he was "tired." That demotion was also reportedly related to Richardson's need "to improve his game preparation and better understand the gravity of the job." 

As for on-the-field play, Pro Football Reference shows that the boom-or-bust Richardson finished the 2024 season ranked last among qualified players in the league with a 47.7 percent completion percentage and a 61.6 passer rating. Fair or not, it seems he lost the summer competition for the Colts' starting gig when he suffered a dislocated right pinkie after he failed to recognize pressure and took a whopping hit in Indianapolis' preseason opener.

Shortly after Colts head coach Shane Steichen announced that Jones will get the nod for the Week 1 game against the Miami Dolphins, Richardson's agent indicated the 23-year-old may want a change of scenery. Per JJ Stankevitz of the Colts' website, Turner hinted on Wednesday that the club intends to hold onto Richardson. 

"The plan for him is to continue to develop," Turner added about Richardson. "He still has a job, a role, a responsibility, which is our backup quarterback, and he has to be prepared to do that. And then my job is to help develop him and continue to grow, because he is so young. We don't want to give up on him. We want to keep growing, continuing to learn and develop as a quarterback."