Anthony Richardson Wins the Backup Job — and the Colts' Season Just Got a Safety Net

Anthony Richardson requested a trade earlier this offseason. He hasn't rescinded it. And yet on Thursday, when Shane Steichen announced that Richardson had won the Indianapolis Colts' backup quarterback job, Richardson sounded like a man who just got exactly what he wanted.

"I'm thankful the Colts believe in me enough to make me QB2," he told reporters.

That statement — from a player who was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft and once seen as the franchise's long-term answer under center — captures the strange, winding path that got Indianapolis here.

Steichen's announcement settled the summer's most-watched positional battle. Richardson will back up Daniel Jones, with Riley Leonard third on the depth chart. The decision came days after the Colts finalized their initial 53-man roster, which includes exactly those three quarterbacks. Easton Stick was cut on cutdown day.

For Richardson, the role represents something of a reset. His two seasons as a starter were defined by promise and interruption: roughly 2,400 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions across parts of 2023–2025, effectively negated by injuries. His legs were always the differentiator — about 600 career rushing yards and 10 rushing scores — but the consistency at the position never arrived. He started 2025 buried on the depth chart, and the trade request that followed made his standing even murkier.

Indianapolis has built its present around Jones instead. The veteran quarterback arrived last season and delivered a career-best passer rating of 100.2, throwing for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. That's the plan at least.

But plans have a way of testing backups — and Jones has already given the Colts some reminders this week. He's appeared on the injury report multiple times with hamstring, neck, and ankle designations, with limited participation listed on more than one practice report. Nothing about that suggests a serious problem, but it's also exactly why depth charts exist.

And that's where Richardson's new job suddenly carries real weight. If Jones starts and stays upright for 17 games, Richardson becomes a high-priced insurance policy. If Jones misses time, the Colts turn to a quarterback with a trade request still on file — one whose skill set would force opposing defensive coordinators to game-plan entirely differently.

The Colts could have moved Richardson this summer. Reports linked him to teams across the league, including at least one familiar AFC East suitor. They chose instead to keep him, a signal that they value the safety net more than the trade return — or at least that they believe the risk of losing depth at the most important position outweighs any draft capital.

Richardson says he's at peace with the situation. "I just want to help the team," he repeated this month. Whether that's contentment or simply a smart acknowledgment that he can't control his own destination, the Colts will take it.

Indianapolis opens the season Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium against Baltimore, a game that shapes up as a stiff first test for a team still establishing its identity. The Ravens travel as road favorites, and they'll bring a rebuilt offensive line that the Colts' defensive front — the strength of this roster — will look to exploit early.

The Colts also received good news this week: Steichen confirmed wide receiver Alec Pierce is expected to be ready for the opener, preserving the one deep threat that helps stretch an offense still learning its rhythm beneath Jones.

Between Jones' health questions and the season opener looming, the quarterback room was never going to be a settled story. But for at least one week, the most pressing question got an answer. Richardson is the backup. Whether that holds beyond September — well, that depends on the two players ahead of him.