It’s shaping up to be a legitimate starting quarterback competition in Indianapolis this offseason.
At the NFL Annual League Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen indicated that incumbent 3rd-year starter Anthony Richardson, as well as recent veteran free agent addition Daniel Jones, the challenger, will initially split offseason reps at the starting quarterback position (via The Athletic’s James Boyd):
#Colts HC Shane Steichen says QBs Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones will split reps this offseason, starting in OTAs.
He said he doesn’t have a timeline on when they’ll make a decision on who’s QB1.
(We’ll know by Week 1. )
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) March 31, 2025
While one would think that the Colts still have to hope that Richardson wins the job outright on the merits, this appears to be a legitimate quarterback competition in Indianapolis.
It’s shaping up to be a 1A and 1B situation regarding both quarterbacks vying for the Horseshoe’s seemingly very much open starting quarterback job.
Following his 2-game benching last season for the infamous in-game ‘tap-out,’ Richardson demonstrated some much needed growth and maturation down the season’s stretch before missing the team’s final two starts because of further injury.
However, in addition to the availability concerns, he still needs to improve his consistency and accuracy as an NFL quarterback. That being said, he’ll turn just 23-years-old in May.
Ideally, the Colts need to take 2025 to figure out what they truly have with Richardson, so they can either continue the marriage with him as the next franchise quarterback hopeful, or start pivoting to other alternatives sooner rather than later.
The encouraging news is that both Richardson and Jones have a similar skill-set, so this won’t be the stark contrast in playing styles—and play-calling for that matter, that was Richardson and longtime NFL veteran quarterback Joe Flacco (40-years-old) last season:
Between Daniel and Anthony, you’re going to see a really good competition,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard recently commented. “It’s going to be a spirited competition, but I also think it’s going to be one where they help each other to grow too.”
“And so we thought Daniel’s skill-set, and Anthony’s skill-set. There’s a lot of similarities there. So offensively, I think that’s going to help our offensive staff, so okay, we don’t have to make these wholesale changes with one guy or the other.”
