The Indianapolis Colts turned plenty of heads with their decision to sign Daniel Jones to a lucrative deal this offseason.
Not many teams willingly spend big bucks on a backup quarterback.
Jones beat out Anthony Richardson for the starting quarterback job, and he’s playing the best football of his career right now.
That seemed to be the beginning of the end of the Richardson era in Indy.
And, judging by their latest decision, they’ve officially given up on him:
“The Colts have made Anthony Richardson the QB3 for today’s game and he’s inactive. Riley Leonard is the backup to Daniel Jones,” Meirov posted on X.
The #Colts have made Anthony Richardson the QB3 for today’s game and he’s inactive.
Riley Leonard is the backup to Daniel Jones. pic.twitter.com/liOc4tXHYF
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 12, 2025
There have been multiple worrisome reports about Richardson’s maturity, leadership, and work ethic – or lack thereof – so this might be yet another strong message about that.
Perhaps he hasn’t dealt well with this frustration, and head coach Shane Steichen is sending him a clear message.
Richardson is one of the most physically gifted quarterback prospects the league has ever seen, but he hasn’t done much with that.
When he’s been healthy, which hasn’t been often, he’s been the least accurate quarterback in the game.
He may have also lost the locker room when he tapped out of a game because he was tired.
He’s still young enough to be worth a flier, and it now seems like the Colts will gladly send him anywhere.
Of course, it might still be years before he’s healthy to play, if ever, and that significantly narrows down the list of potential destinations.
One thing’s for sure, though.
Unless something pretty unusual happens, he’s not going to take another snap for the Indianapolis Colts.
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