According to Ben Solak of ESPN, The Indianapolis Colts, sitting at 2-3, will have to play primary backup quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr., given starter Daniel Jones’ poor play through five games so far this season.:
I might think … the Colts should play Anthony Richardson Sr. They won’t trade him, and Daniel Jones looks like his arm is getting weaker almost every week. This offense could really use an infusion of playmaking from a talented runner at the quarterback position.
Interestingly enough, Solak stopped short of saying the Colts should actually start Richardson Sr., although given Jones’ physical limitations coming off a torn Achilles right now, that’s probably implied here.
I’m not saying I can’t get thereif the Colts continue to play lackluster football, but I’m just not there yet.
By giving up on Jones this early in the season, you’d really be waving the white flag that he’s not the answer at QB either. You’re going to recreate the starting quarterback controversy in Indianapolis, and the infamous saying of the late legendary John Madden is, “When you have two quarterbacks, you really have nothing.”
When the Colts re-signed Jones to a 2-year, potentially $100 million deal with incentives this past offseason, they had to know that Jones might not fully regain his physical form from the ‘first half of the 2025 campaign,’ until later this season or perhaps not fully until the 2027 season.
It was always thought that 2026 could be a redshirt year in terms of Jones’ recovery, which is probably why his representation pushed for a 2-year deal from the Colts—and got it.
Coming off an Achilles tear, Jones didn’t look physically explosive rushing the football outside the pocket and didn’t seem accustomed to getting his throws into the pocket, which contributed to his noticeable lack of arm strength when throwing downfield.
That said, you have to play with confidence in the pocket to be successful at the pro level, so at a certain point, this can’t continue for the Colts to realistically make the playoffs. Jones needs to play stronger in the pocket.
When the best thing Colts fans could say about Jones in last Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was that “he didn’t turn the ball over,” that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for a starting quarterback who’s 29-years-old and firmly in the middle of Year 8 playing in the NFL. Jones may not have lost the Colts last weekend’s game in Pittsburgh, but he didn’t win it for them by any means.
He will not bear this sin any time soon.
If the Colts collectively continue to decline, and Jones continues to play around league average starting quarterback play, neither hurting, nor helping the Colts win football games, at some point, would you consider pulling the lever for Richardson? Week 12?
At that point, longtime general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen are probably in the last fight for their jobs, and maybe, at that point, they’ll deliver a Hail Mary out of desperation?
Turn to Richardson again to save their floundering season?
At that point, you’ll admit that Jones isn’t the starting quarterback answer here either, but if Steichen loses his job as head coach in that situation, what’s the value of Jones returning in 2027 without Steichen?
In my opinion, a lot of Jones’ improved play and value to the Colts is tied to pairing with Steichen. If you take the latter out of the equation, does Jones have value with a potential new coaching regime coming in?
(This would be a $35.2 million 2027 dead cap hit the Colts would have to absorb either way, but without a 2027 first round pick and a lack of free agent quarterback upgrades, they could be tied to Jones in one year).
These are all unanswered questions, but things should become clearer as the 2026 campaign progresses.
Still, Richardson’s return to the Colts’ first-team offense as the starter over Jones isn’t quite as far-fetched as it seemed just a few weeks ago, although nothing, and I MEAN NOTHING, looks imminent.