Colts make final Anthony Richardson Sr. decision for start of 2026 season

Anthony Richardson Sr. of the Indianapolis Colts requested a trade in February, but no transaction materialized before he spent the preseason competing with 2025 sixth-round draft pick Riley Leonard for the club's primary backup quarterback job. 

It now sounds like Richardson will continue to call Indianapolis home for the foreseeable future. 

Colts seem comfortable with keeping Anthony Richardson Sr.

Per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, Colts general manager Chris Ballard shared a major update on Richardson's status while speaking with reporters on Tuesday. 

"He is going to be an Indianapolis Colt this year," Ballard said about Richardson. 

Ballard did not confirm that Richardson won the QB2 job, but Noah Compton of Sports Illustrated and others noted that the No. 4 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft outperformed Leonard during the preseason.

Meanwhile, Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones is seemingly on track to get the nod for the club's Week 1 game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 13. Jones spent the spring recovering from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered this past December, but Ben Arthur of Fox Sports mentioned on Tuesday that the Colts' QB1 "didn’t look like he was coming off a major injury" throughout training camp. The Colts signed Jones to a two-year, $88M contract that could be worth up to $100M back in March. 

Is Anthony Richardson Sr. now good to stay with the Colts?

Last summer, Richardson lost a competition for the Indianapolis starting job to Jones before the 2025 regular season got underway. While it's no secret that Richardson wanted to land elsewhere earlier this year, Jones' injury history suggests that Colts head coach Shane Steichen may have to turn to a backup for at least a handful of snaps this coming fall. 

"He’s a phenomenal teammate — and I don’t use that word lightly," Ballard added about Richardson. "Like, he is a great teammate. He likes to be around the team. He likes being part of the team. There’s never been a point — even going back into last year when he didn’t win the job — there’s not been one point where I’ve seen him hang his head and get salty. He’s a phenomenal teammate."

The Colts will hope that Richardson remains "a phenomenal teammate" as an in-game spectator, as such a development would involve Jones playing well and being healthy. Barring a surprise, it appears Richardson will be Indianapolis' second-choice option for the home game against Baltimore on the second Sunday of September.