Who will the Indianapolis Colts bring in as competition for QB Anthony Richardson in 2025?
The Indianapolis Colts will plan to have an “open competition” for their starting quarterback spot for the 2025 season, according to general manager Chris Ballard.
Here at Colts GM Chris Ballard’s presser at the combine, and he doesn’t wait long to say it’ll be an open competition for the starting QB job between Anthony Richardson and whomever the team brings in (likely via free agency).
“It’ll be good for Anthony,” Ballard says.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) February 25, 2025
During his end-of-season press conference back in January, Ballard mentioned bringing in legit competition for Richardson this offseason, citing reservations about the third-year quarterback’s ability to stay healthy throughout an entire season.
The ninth-year general manager doubled down on bringing in competition when he met with media members Tuesday afternoon at the NFL Scouting Combine.
“Everything’s on the table,” Ballard said. “I think it’s good for the team. I think it’s good for Anthony,”
Amongst Richardson’s struggles from last season, his completion percentage of 47.7 percent, both a league and franchise-low in 2024, is where he must undoubtedly improve the most next season.
“It’’ll be open, and of course, it’s gotta be somebody that can really challenge from a production standpoint, too,” Ballard said.
“He’s gotta be the right guy to create real competition,” Ballard continued. “We want to create real competition.”
While Ballard added that ‘everything is on the table,’ whether it’s free agency, the draft, or via trade in how the Colts decide who to bring in as competition, according to ESPN’s Stephen Holder, he knows that will ultimately help push not only Richardson’s game but the rest of the team as well.
“As he continues to progress in his young career, us adding competition will help up everybody’s game,” Ballard said.
There could be a handful of options for the Colts to explore via free agency, including Justin Fields, who’s a pending free agent. Former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and New England Patriots backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett could potentially be realistic options for the team as well, amongst others.
The NFL’s new league year will start on March 12, which is when we could truly get a sense of the route Indianapolis plans to take in pursuing that competition for Richardson.
