{"id":225903,"date":"2025-04-01T10:15:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T14:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=225903"},"modified":"2025-04-01T06:13:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T10:13:17","slug":"the-colts-quarterback-competition-is-getting-serious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/04\/01\/the-colts-quarterback-competition-is-getting-serious\/","title":{"rendered":"The Colts Quarterback Competition Is Getting Serious"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen spoke with reporters<\/a> regarding his quarterback competition. This was discussed because, during Chris Ballard’s Year-End Press Conference<\/a>, he mentioned that the team would bring in competition to help make players better. The Colts eventually signed<\/a> Daniel Jones<\/a> from the Minnesota Vikings<\/a> in hopes that he can be that competition who helps make Richardson better. Some pundits<\/a> believed that the Colts quarterback competition was just talk, but the Jones signing shows this will be a legitimate battle.<\/p>\n

2025 will be a huge year for Richardson and Jones. Both quarterbacks have had their fair share of struggles and both are looking for redemption. Both quarterbacks are also looking to prove the doubters wrong and showcase what they can truly do. The competition between Richardson and Jones will be a hot topic this offseason. It will be one that media outlets will be following closely as it could shape the future of the Colts franchise.<\/p>\n

A Look Into the Colts Quarterback Competition<\/h2>\n

Anthony Richardson’s Career Is on the Line<\/h3>\n

Even though Anthony Richardson<\/a> is only in his third season in the NFL, it feels like this year will be a make-or-break year. Being the fourth overall pick comes with its pressures and Richardson is no stranger to that. The Colts gave him the reins on day one and Richardson has struggled to produce at a high level, worthy of being a fourth overall pick. The Colts admitted<\/a> that they should’ve waited on Richardson and allowed him to develop, but the upside was just too good. Unfortunately, that might end up costing Richardson’s career.<\/p>\n

There is little to no data on what the implications are of quarterbacks starting day one or sitting. Some quarterbacks do very well like Andrew Luck<\/a>, CJ Stroud<\/a>, and Jayden Daniels<\/a>. Other guys need time like Matthew Stafford<\/a> and Baker Mayfield<\/a>. And other guys needed time on the bench like Jordan Love<\/a>, Jared Goff<\/a>, and Kirk Cousins<\/a>. Regardless, though, the Colts are in a tough situation. They want to start the best player. However, if that ends up being Daniel Jones, then their fourth overall investment would be a complete waste and therefore Richardson would need to find another team. If he gets beat out by an inconsistent quarterback like Jones, the likelihood of Richardson ever being a starter would be slim.<\/p>\n

Thus, this quarterback competition will be crucial for the Colts in how they approach Richardson. Will they unlock his intangible abilities to the max or will they realize that they drafted a bust?<\/p>\n

Daniel Jones Could Become Comeback Player of the Year<\/h3>\n

Daniel Jones<\/a> could make his case for Comeback Player of the Year<\/a> in 2025. After a horrendous 2024<\/a> campaign in which he was released mid-season, Jones is looking for stability in his new home in Indianapolis. He is only signed to a one-year deal so it will be a make-or-break season for him as well. If he can’t beat out Richardson, he could become a career backup. This is why the Colts quarterback competition will be huge for him.<\/p>\n

The expectation is that Anthony Richardson will be the starting quarterback in 2025. However, coach Steichen made it clear<\/a> that he would let this competition play out. By all accounts, this quarterback competition could last through OTAs, training camp, and even the preseason. For the second time in Jones’s career, he will have an opportunity to once again show why he should be the starter. He was in a situation<\/a> in 2019, his rookie year<\/a>, where he was asked to step up in favor of Eli Manning<\/a>. At this point, Manning was struggling and the New York Giants<\/a> needed a spark. Jones, essentially, became that spark and went 2-0 in his first starts.<\/p>\n

Jones will need to come back to the spark that he had as a rookie. He had raw talent, quick feet, and good game-management skills. The Colts need a guy just like that. They need someone who can manage games, rely on the run, make plays with his legs, and be accurate on short and intermediate passes. Time will tell if Jones will shock the NFL world and win the Colts quarterback competition. One thing remains true, though, this competition is more serious than many people thought.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Junfu Han – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen spoke with reporters regarding his quarterback competition. This was discussed because, during Chris Ballard’s Year-End Press Conference, he mentioned that the team would bring in competition to help make players better. The Colts eventually signed Daniel Jones from the Minnesota Vikings in hopes that he can be that competition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5012,"featured_media":225944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,54],"tags":[9564,4688,9485],"class_list":["post-225903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colts","category-editorials","tag-anthony-richardson","tag-daniel-jones","tag-shane-steichen"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5012"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225903"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225945,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225903\/revisions\/225945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}