Anthony Richardson Ready for 'Competition' After Daniel Jones' Colts Contract

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson told reporters Tuesday that he's ready for a "competition" for the team's QB1 role with signal-caller Daniel Jones, who signed a one-year, $14 million deal this offseason.

Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, started 11 games last season. He completed 47.7 percent of his passes for eight touchdowns, 12 interceptions and 1,814 yards.

Richardson made his comments from voluntary offseason workouts, where the team will start seeing the two quarterbacks get to work in this competition in earnest.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard previously spoke on the matter as the Colts began their offseason program in hopes of bouncing back from a disappointing 8-9 season. Ballard has visions of both players helping the squad in 2025, per NFL.com's Kevin Patra.

"Sometimes you've got to be bad before you can be good at playing this game," he said. "Sometimes you've got to struggle before you can be good, all right? We've got two guys that have had some really strong flashes and have had some bad moments, too, and that's OK. I think both of them will be better because of this, and I think the team will be better because of it. You know, competition brings out the best in everybody, and I think we'll see that.

"To sit here a day before we even start the offseason and have a vision of how. ... You don't want to begin with an end in mind. We're not gonna do that. It's like the draft. You don't want to begin with an end in mind. You've got to let things play out the way they should and compete and who gives the team the best chance to win. Look, if I'm a betting man, at some point, both of them will help us."

Richardson was benched for two games and missed four last year due to injury. He showed flashes of brilliance, particularly on some deep balls, but ultimately struggled and saw more than half of his passes fall incomplete.

Jones is looking for another chance as well. He had an up-and-down (mostly down) tenure with the New York Giants from 2019-2024, with the highlight being leading Big Blue to the 2022 playoffs and the lowlights being the last two seasons.

His 2023 campaign ended with a torn ACL midway through the year. He struggled in his 2024 comeback and was benched and then cut in November.

Ultimately, the Colts hope to get the better versions of both quarterbacks amid this competition as Indianapolis looks for its first playoff appearance since 2020.