Colts Likely to Get Only Fifth-Round Pick for Anthony Richardson as Trade Destinations Emerge

The Colts and former first-round pick Anthony Richardson are clearly headed for a messy divorce, and the process of trading him has already become complicated as well, according to league sources.

Ricardson, taken with the fourth-overall pick just three years ago, has suffered due to injuries and lack of development by the Colts coaching staff, with rival executives pointing to them starting him too soon as a rookie and not sticking with him with more veracity once they did name him a starter as primary reasons for his stilted career to this point. Regardless, Richardson, still just 23, won’t be back with the team; the problem for the Colts, as we hear it, is getting anything back in return of any particular worth.

Richardson has clashed with the coaching staff, performed very erratically and has been very injury prone from running the football in such an aggressive manner. 

While he still has some supporters in the scouting community based on his athletic prowess and potential upside, he’s not viewed as a viable starter for 2026 and rather someone who would have to compete over time for the right to start. That’s not going to bring much in return.

What’s Richardson Worth?

“We’re not interested,” said one NFL general manger who is very much in the market for quarterback help. “He’s too much for a project for us to take on right now. It’s not the right fit.“

When pressed on what he would be willing to give up if he believed he had more time to develop Richardson, the GM said he thought maybe the Colts could get a fifth-round pick for him. 

Another personnel executive, who did like Richardson coming out of college at Florida more than some other evaluators at the time, said he doesn’t view him as a starting quarterback, either.

“I wouldn’t go down that road now,” the executive said. “Too much injury risk. Look, if you really did your work on him at Florida, they were running five plays. It wasn’t a real offense and the Colts haven’t done much to bring him along. Would I give them a six, maybe a five, if I had a situation where I want to create some packages and get him on the field inn certain situations? I could see that. But he would be a pass for me now as a starting option.”

In the end, even those teams interested in him might be content for the Colts to just release Richardson before trying to scoop him up. He’s certainly far too young and talented to be deemed a sunk cost at this point, but also doesn’t project like a quick fix even for one of the NFL’s more proven quarterback whisperers. 

Could a team like Green Bay, which did expertly to cultivate running quarterback Malik Willis as a back-up to Jordan Love, he an ideal landing spot? A stint with someone like Rams coach Sean McVay might do him well.

“The Colts might not want to move him in the division,” said another longtime evaluator who liked Richardson coming out of college, “but I think Jacksonville would be a good landing spot. Have him behind (Trevor) Lawrence, run RPO (run-pass option) stuff. He’d be a good fit with (Jaguars) coach Liam Coen. He has some working knowledge of Indianapolis.”