4 Best Fits for Anthony Richardson to Resurrect NFL Career if Colts Trade QB

The Indianapolis Colts' Anthony Richardson experiment appears to be over after ESPN's Stephen Holder reported on Thursday that the quarterback has been given permission to seek a trade.

Holder had previously noted that it seems "inevitable" the 23-year-old will play elsewhere in 2026.

With Daniel Jones excelling as Indy's QB1 prior to getting injured and likely to re-up with the organization in free agency, Richardson is expected to seek a fresh start this offseason.

While the Colts invested the No. 4 overall pick in Richardson just three years ago, a trade has become the best path forward for both parties. Despite flashing immense potential early in his rookie season, injuries and inconsistency plagued the Florida product as he attempted to establish himself as an NFL-caliber passer.

Richardson will finish his tenure in Indianapolis with an 8-7 record as a starter, a winning mark that belies a serious lack of polish in his craft. The signal-caller has completed just 50.6 percent of his throws for 2,400 yards and 11 touchdowns while taking 21 sacks and tossing 13 interceptions.

It didn't help that Richardson wasn't able to get on the field with any regularity. A shoulder injury shut down his potential breakout rookie season just four games in, while head coach Shane Steichen had little choice but to bench the quarterback during a trying sophomore campaign.

The arrival of Jones last offseason, coupled with an unfortunate orbital bone fracture that impacted Richardson's vision, ultimately ended any hope of the prized Day 1 pick becoming a franchise quarterback in Indianapolis.

Even with these setbacks, there remains a glimmer of hope for Richardson to eventually develop into a quality quarterback. His rushing abilities seamlessly translated to the professional level, resulting in an impressive 634 yards and 10 scores on 115 totes. He's just 23 years old and boasts a 6'4", 244-pound frame and elite athleticism that resulted in a combine performance for the ages.

Richardson will now attempt to join the ranks of Sam Darnold, Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield—quarterbacks who all struggled in their first act but went on to find success with other organizations later in their careers.

With that in mind, let's highlight four teams that Richardson could resurrect his career with.

Cleveland Browns

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

The Cleveland Browns quarterback carousel has been spinning since their return to the league in 1999.

With 42 different players starting under center in that span, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the new regime make a splash by bringing in yet another signal-caller to compete for the starting job this offseason.

While the Browns finished a rocky 2025 campaign with Shedeur Sanders as their QB1, the fifth-round rookie didn't do enough to guarantee he'll remain in that position next season.

Acquiring Richardson would provide some serious competition for Sanders in training camp and the dynamic dual-threat quarterback may even be a better fit for new head coach Todd Monken's system.

Monken is a well-regarded offensive mind who spent the past three seasons coordinating one of the league's most prolific offenses with the rival Ravens.

The 60-year-old maximized the talents of star quarterback Lamar Jackson during their time together in Charm City. Jackson earned the NFL MVP award in 2023—Monken's first year as Baltimore's offensive coordinator—and followed that up with a second consecutive All-Pro campaign in 2024.

Monken could deploy Richardson in similar fashion to Jackson, leveraging the QB's elite rushing talents to open the rest of the offense. While Richardson isn't nearly as polished as Jackson, his size, speed and athleticism gives him the upside to develop into an even more potent rushing threat than the two-time MVP.

The biggest issue will be building up Richardson's questionable passing skills. It doesn't help that Cleveland's receiving corps leaves much to be desired, although the Browns do have one of the league's top up-and-coming pass-catching tight ends in Harold Fannin Jr.

With a strong backfield led by the second-year tandem of Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson supporting Richardson, Cleveland could look to replicate Baltimore's ground-and-pound attack that resulted in top-two rushing offenses in each of the last three seasons.

Minnesota Vikings

AP Photo/Abbie Parr

After going 14-3 with Sam Darnold at the helm in 2024, the Minnesota Vikings could be in the market for another rehabilitation project.

Richardson would fit the bill as a promising talent who hasn't come close to meeting the lofty expectations set by his first-round draft position.

While Minnesota will be working to build up J.J. McCarthy after a rough sophomore campaign, the No. 10 overall pick in 2024 has proved to be injury-prone early in his NFL career. He already missed his entire rookie season and seven games in 2025, making quarterback depth a priority this offseason.

Even if he doesn't profile as a potential starter for the club, Richardson would be a significant upgrade over Max Brosmer in the QB2 slot—especially if Minnesota elects not to retain fellow backup Carson Wentz.

Richardson still needs to display considerable growth before he's ready to reliably lead an NFL offense, but he won't find many opportunities better than learning under head coach Kevin O'Connell.

O'Connell is considered one of the league's premier quarterback whisperers, coaxing some truly impressive seasons out of Pro Bowlers like Kirk Cousins and Matt Stafford in addition to maximizing the talents of written-off or unheralded talent such as Darnold and Josh Dobbs.

Daniel Jones, the passer who edged out Richardson for Indianapolis' starting job last year, said the handful of months spent in Minnesota with O'Connell "made a big impression" on him.

O'Connell seems to believe Richardson has real potential to develop into a superstar despite the rough start to his career. After his Vikings bested the Colts midway through the 2024 season—a game Richardson spent on the bench backing up Joe Flacco—O'Connell went out of his way to heap praise upon the young QB.

Richardson could do far worse than landing in the Twin Cities this offseason. He'll have a fantastic opportunity to develop his game and could even end up starting if McCarthy goes down with another injury in 2026.

San Francisco 49ers

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Although the 49ers aren't the most obvious team for Richardson to resuscitate his career with, the organization may represent the beleaguered quarterback's best chance at developing into a consistently great player.

Richardson wouldn't have a real chance at starting due to the presence of Brock Purdy—and may not even be the primary backup if the team retains breakout backup Mac Jones this offseason—but even serving as the third quarterback on San Francisco's roster could do wonders for the young passer.

Several quarterbacks have rehabilitated their standing under the tutelage of head coach Kyle Shanahan, a renowned offensive mind who has a history of maximizing the talent at the position.

Sam Darnold is the best example of what a year under Shanahan can do for a struggling signal-caller. After crashing out with both the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, Darnold took a pay cut and turned down multiple offers to compete for a starting job during the 2023 offseason—all for a chance to spend a season riding the pine while taking in as much as possible from the Niners coach and his staff.

Per ESPN's Kalyn Kahler, Jordan Palmer, Darnold's private quarterbacks coach, described his tenure in San Francisco as a "redshirt year" and likened it to "going to Harvard."

Darnold parlayed the lessons from that season into a successful year with the Minnesota Vikings before going on to earn a blockbuster contract and Super Bowl ring with the Seattle Seahawks.

Richardson shouldn't hesitate to follow the blueprint Darnold laid out, starting by taking a redshirt year in the Bay Area. If he can get out of the spotlight and quietly hone his craft in San Francisco, he will be well-positioned to resurface as a trendy free-agent target who could compete for a starting job elsewhere in 2027.

Pittsburgh Steelers

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

The Pittsburgh Steelers are turning over a new leaf this offseason.

With longtime head coach Mike Tomlin resigning and Mike McCarthy taking the wheel, the Steelers will try to dislodge themselves from the NFL's version of purgatory—too talented to bottom out and earn early draft picks but not good enough to realistically contend for a Super Bowl.

One way Pittsburgh could truly shake things up under McCarthy is by trading for Richardson.

Despite the regime change, the Steelers still don't have a clearcut answer to a quarterback problem that has plagued them since Ben Roethlisberger's retirement at the end of the 2021 campaign.

While the franchise has tried desperately to fill the void through both the draft (spending a first-round draft pick on Kenny Pickett) and free agency (inking past-their-prime stars in Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers), it hasn't been able to get over the hump.

Although the Steelers haven't won a playoff game since 2016, they also haven't finished worse than 8-8 since 2003, meaning they haven't been able to land any of the blue-chip signal-callers found at or near the top of a typical draft class.

Richardson would be the ultimate dice roll for the Steelers. He possesses more upside than any other quarterback who the team could reasonably acquire this offseason—including the trade market, free agency and draft—and still has the potential to develop into a top-tier NFL starter if all goes right.

While Richardson has that sky-high ceiling, he also has one of the lower floors of any potential starter in the league.

Richardson has been erratic as a passer in most of his NFL appearances, completing half of his throws in eight of the 11 starts he made during the 2024 campaign. It's a highly concerning trait that McCarthy and the Pittsburgh coaching staff would have to fix if they wanted to make a run in 2026.

Regardless, riding with Richardson and seeing if he can figure things out is a low-risk, high-reward maneuver that could set the stage for a successful future in Pittsburgh.

Whether that's with Richardson leading the way as their long-term starter or his failures opening the door to land a franchise passer in the 2027 draft remains to be seen, but the Steelers would at least finally have a viable answer to their longstanding quarterback woes.