“I think he has all the potential in the world. If he wants to prove it, he can, and he will. If he wants to.” With these words, Colts’ new leader Carlie Irsay-Gordon had placed faith in QB Anthony Richardson upon taking over the mantle from her late father, Jim Irsay. Since then, the question of who’s going to be the starter has plagued Indianapolis. Richardson’ injury riddled campaigns have thrown his stability into question. The Colts even looked for backups when he missed the minicamps. But as the training camp looms, that first-round hype around Richardson still hasn’t died down.

Ever since Andrew Luck hung up his cleats back in 2019, the Colts have been in the search for a franchise QB. For many, that dream seemed fulfilled when Anthony Richardson came to Indianapolis as a first-round choice in 2023. But multiple injuries kept pushing him to the sidelines in his rookie year till a shoulder injury marked the end of his season. That old injury kept haunting him as he noted soreness in that same shoulder and missed the last two weeks of the offseason program. But he is primed to be back for training camp, and that vote of confidence from the owner is still going strong.

As per a post on X by Underdog NFL, Colts’ owner Irsay-Gordon has notably said Anthony still has plenty of time to show his skills. “Where he is in his career, and in his deal as a rookie, we still have time. He still has time to prove it.” Richardson is notably still on his rookie 4-year of $33.9 million. As Irsay-Gordon sees it, Richardson’s spark is only just beginning. This isn’t the first time Irsay-Gordon has put her faith in the untapped potential of Richardson. On one occasion, she had also noted that injuries are part of the process, and sometimes players have “rough starts”, but those injuries don’t take anything away from what Richardson can deliver if completely healthy.

While the NFL numbers don’t exactly scream elite because of injury sidelines, Richardson certainly has flair. In his last college campaign, he notably threw for 2,549 yards and secured 17 TDs, solidifying his first-round status. Add a 4.43 40-yard dash speed, and you see the glimmer of what the Colts saw in Richardson’s potential. Despite the injury offset this offseason, he’s slated to join the training camp and make up for lost time. GM Chris Ballard had declared the QB1 spot an “open competition,” meaning Richardson will have to compete against Daniel Jones to get his starting slot back. But with multiple green lights from the ownership, that QB battle now feels rather one-sided for Jones.

Daniel Jones’ future in question against Anthony Richardson’s potential

Despite signing former Giants quarterback Daniel Jones to a one-year ‘prove-it’ deal, the Colts’ quarterback room is quickly shifting away from any notion of a true competition. With Anthony Richardson recovered and returning as the presumptive starter, Indianapolis is now weighing the value Jones brings given the crowded depth chart. At the moment, the Colts carry four quarterbacks: Richardson, Jones, Jason Bean, and rookie Riley Leonard. Heading into the season with 4 QBs may not be the way Irsay-Gordon wishes to go. With Richardson healthy and Jones no longer seen as a starting-caliber insurance policy, Jones finds himself on increasingly shaky ground.

On an edition of The Rich Eisen Show, NFL Network analyst Joe Thomas drove it home. He noted that Richardson is staying, but the same couldn’t be said for Jones. “I don’t know that the Colts would be ready to get rid of him (Richardson) because, again, we have seen enough of Daniel Jones to know that he’s probably not the long-term answer there in Indianapolis.” The first-round pick for Richardson comes with high expectations. The Colts have also made it abundantly clear that Richardson has time to prove himself as the franchise QB. As for Jones, Thomas further notes, “I think they’re much more thinking that Daniel Jones is just that stopgap.” Jones hasn’t flashed NFL level stats since the ‘22 season when he threw for 3,205 yards, his career best. That was also the last time he led the Giants to his only postseason appearance till date.

If Richardson can make up for lost time in training camp, or if Bean / Leonard show flashes of greatness, it’ll be even harder for Jones. With no deep ties to the franchise, the move to cut Jones would also open a pathway for the Colts to develop their young quarterback pipeline without distractions. Letting Jones go would be less a risk and more a recognition that the Colts’ future is already in the building, and that their brief foray into another veteran QB experiment has run its course. Will that be the case? Once the dust settles on training camp, we’ll have our answer.