Anthony Richardson appears to be headed for a true quarterback competition if he remains with the Indianapolis Colts, and Pat McAfee wonders if that is the best situation for the former No. 4 overall pick.
Daniel Jones agreed to a one-year contract with the Colts in free agency on Tuesday. Jones will make more than $13 million guaranteed, which is a strong indicator that Indianapolis views him as a potential starting quarterback. That, of course, is not great news for Richardson.
Shortly after Jones agreed to sign with the Colts, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky wondered if the move was made in response to Richardson requesting a trade. McAfee responded and said he thinks that would be a “good idea” for the former Florida star.
“That sounds like a good idea.. fresh start for a guy with MASSIVE upside,” McAfee wrote on X.
McAfee, a former Colts punter, was very excited about Richardson when Indy drafted the quarterback two years ago. McAfee even made a huge prediction about how much success Richardson would have with the franchise.
Things changed drastically last season. McAfee and some other people who work on his show were highly critical of Richardson when Richardson subbed himself out of a game because he was tired.
McAfee is ecstatic that the Colts have signed Jones. Darius Butler, another former Colt, said during “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday that fans in Indy are “torn” on Richardson. McAfee responded to that by saying fans “wouldn’t be torn” if they learned more about Richardson. He then spoke about some of the concerns he has heard about the 22-year-old’s work ethic.
“Will he have the professionalism to pay attention to every single detail about how he presents himself, how he operates and how he goes about his business on the day-to-day?” McAfee said, as transcribed by Ben Axelrod of Awful Announcing. “Treatment and meetings and workouts and being on time, being early. All these things about being a professional. Will A.R. do that this offseason? Maybe. Especially now that there’s a little bit more pressure.”
Richardson is still one of the youngest players in the NFL, so he has more than enough time to turn his career around. There also is no guarantee that the Colts are finished with him, though he may want a fresh start, as McAfee said.
The Colts have already issued a warning to Richardson heading into 2025, so he should have plenty of motivation whether he is traded or not.
