NFL
By Rick O’Donnell
The Indianapolis Colts have named their starting quarterback, and it’s not Anthony Richardson. This week, the Colts decided to go with Daniel Jones as their QB1, despite his lack of success as a New York Giant. Jones is coming off a season where he was a backup in Minnesota for the Vikings. Now, he’ll be under center week one when the Colts take on the Miami Dolphins. Fans might be scratching their heads why a veteran is taking over for the supposed future of the franchise QB. With all the talk surrounding the move, the only one the Colts can blame is themselves.
Here’s a tough pill to swallow Indianapolis chose this route. You can call out Anthony Richardson for whatever madeup reason you want for him not being named the starter. However, the truth of the matter is, no matter what excuse they come up with, they chose this route.
You can say he doesn’t have the intangibles to be the leader on this team, yet. Okay, but that’s on the Colts. Richardson just turned 23 this past May and his been in the NFL for two seasons. Meaning when Indianapolis drafted him in the NFL Draft in April of 2023, he wasn’t even the legal age to purchase alcohol in all 50 states. The leader in your organization, QB1, the position that carries the most pressure in the NFL, and you took him with the fourth overall pick that season. They put his talent and his potential first and decided to figure out the rest as they went. That’s on them.
Then people want to say he’s underprepared on game day, again that’s on the Colts. Indianapolis went into that NFL Draft knowing Richardson had only played 24 games in college and knowing he only started in his final season at Florida. They had every opportunity to test his preparation and knowledge in their pre-draft visits. They had a Top-30 visit as well as a private workout with Richardson before the draft, and decided his character and work ethic with his arm strength was enough. They still drafted him 4th overall.
Let’s not forget, all of these things happened, and they still danced around naming him the starter, simply because they chose him 4th overall. If he wasn’t ready then, and continues to not be ready now to the point of him being a backup to Daniel Jones, why was he ever named the starter in the first place? Again, a decision the Colts made.
Anthony Richardson is not free of guilt, and in no way shape, or form are we to let him off the hook. If he wants to be a starter in today’s NFL, he’s got to put in the work.
Do I think the Indianapolis Colts made the right call to name Daniel Jones the starter? Absolutely, I do. Unfortunately, that has nothing to do with Anthony Richardson who, continues to be the right QB on the wrong team. He’s got the talent, but he needs a fresh start. With the right team, he could echo the success of Sam Darnold’s Minnesota Vikings run, but the Colts will never swallow their pride and move on.
