With the roster reshaping phase of the offseason behind us, what is the biggest question that remains for the Colts? PFF made its selection.
With the roster reshaping phase of the NFL offseason behind us, what is the biggest question that remains for the Indianapolis Colts?
Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus recently weighed in on this question for each NFL team. As it pertains to the Colts, it’s a fairly obvious one: Who wins the starting quarterback job?
“Anthony Richardson enters a pivotal Year 3 after struggling during each of his first two campaigns, failing to record a 60.0 PFF passing grade and being benched for a stretch in 2024,” wrote Locker. “The Colts sensed more urgency surrounding the Florida product this offseason, spending on Daniel Jones (67.5 PFF passing grade) as a higher-end backup.
“If Richardson wins the job and performs well, it would change the entire trajectory of the organization, potentially saving Shane Steichen’s and Chris Ballard’s jobs. But if not, a reset could be staring Indianapolis in the face.”
As head coach Shane Steichen has described, Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones will be splitting the starting reps during OTAs and training camp. There is no hard deadline–other than Week 1–for naming a starter, so the Colts are prepared to let this play out as long as is needed.
Ultimatley, again as Steichen has mentioned, it’ll be consistency that determines who wins the starting job.
Richardson completed only 47% of his passes last season and had the fifth-highest turnover-worthy play rate, according to PFF. The focus for him this offseason has been on his fundamentals, specifically his footwork, which for a quarterback, is where accuracy often begins.
Jones has been much more accurate throughout his career, completing 64% of his passes, but after hovering around the 67% mark in 2022 and 2023–where he played just six games due to injury–Jones’ completion rate dipped to 63% this past season. He’s also struggled with interceptions over the last two seasons, and the New York offense struggled to generate big plays.
GM Chris Ballard believes that the quarterback competition will help elevate the play of both players and, therefore, the play within that room. While not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, Richardson did respond with two fourth-quarter comebacks last season after his return to the starting lineup from being benched.
As we look at this Colts roster on paper, there are some question marks like every team has, but it’s a well put-together team. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty given the unknowns at quarterback. At the end of the day, the play of that position will determine the ceiling for this team.