The Indianapolis Colts have more questions than answers at the quarterback position entering next season as their bold choice to draft Anthony Richardson hasn't worked out. Now entering his third season, Richardson must fully assume the reins or the organization has to come up with a different strategy. Any offseason discussion of potential quarterback turnover and the ensuing carousel has been likely to include the Colts, which is not what any organization wants this quickly into a pick's career.
Appearing on Around the Horn on Wednesday, Kevin Clark suggested that the situation may not be salvageable.
“They have answered every single question wrong since they drafted Anthony Richardson two years ago,” said Clark. “They have bungled the situation and right now I’m afraid it’s beyond repair. You took one of the most athletic quarterbacks we have ever seen at the combine. You let him play for a month. He gets hurt, you let him play for a month. When he gets healthy, you bench him for Joe Flacco ...
"[The Colts] have bungled this situation and right now I'm afraid it's beyond repair," says @bykevinclark on Anthony Richardson and a QB competition in Indy. pic.twitter.com/RKvy3glLMT
— Around the Horn (@AroundtheHorn) February 26, 2025
"You have to give someone like Anthony Richardson a long runway to develop," Clark continued. "They haven’t done that. All of the sudden, Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen are trying to save their jobs. They are trying to get a veteran in right now. For me, that would be someone like Justin Fields if I had to choose. But I just think this was the wrong situation from the get go. Anthony Richardson was failed. That doesn’t mean he is a great quarterback. But he was failed in this situation. The whole thing is a football tragedy. The whole thing is football malpractice.”
When all laid out like that, yeah, it sounds bad. But the bright side is that if the Colts stick with Richardson they will be giving him that long runway to develop.
Perhaps the most interesting part of Clark's commentary is pointing out how oftentimes the front office responsible for developing their projects has to alter their goals into self-preservation at the expense of continuing the process, which doesn't seem great.
More of the Latest Around the NFL
This article was originally published on www.si.com as ESPN Analyst Suggests Anthony Richardson-Colts Situation is 'Beyond Repair'.
