Former Gators QB Anthony Richardson Makes Decision on Future with Colts

Former Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson's time with the Indianapolis Colts is set to come to an end. The Colts have given the former first-round pick permission to seek a trade, ESPN's Stephen Holder reported on Thursday.

Breaking: The Colts have given quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. permission to seek a trade, a league source told @HolderStephen. pic.twitter.com/9U18pueTYY
— ESPN (@espn) February 26, 2026

Richardson has spent the last three seasons with Indianapolis, which selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. With a big arm, tremendous size and a strong running ability, Richardson was seen as a high-potential pick despite inconsistent production at Florida.

However, injuries severely limited him in his time with the Colts.

In just his second pro game, Richardson suffered a concussion and missed one game. In Week 5, Richardson was placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury and was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery.

The next season, Richardson missed two games with an oblique injury before being benched after voluntarily removing himself from a game against the Texans, saying he "needed a breather." He was replaced for the next two games by veteran Joe Flacco. After returning to his initial role as the starter, Richardson eventually missed the final two games of the season due to a back injury.

Entering his third season, Richardson entered a quarterback competition with the newly signed Daniel Jones, who beat out Richardsoon for the starting spot. Richardson, once again, was eventually played on injured reserve after fracturing an orbital bone in a freak injury during pregame warmups.

Jones, meanwhile, had a bounce-back year with 3,101 yards and 19 touchdowns while going 8-5 as the Colts' starter.

In three seasons, Richardson threw for just 2,400 yards and 11 touchdowns with 13 interceptions, completing just over 50 percent of his passes. He added 634 yards and 10 touchdowns rushing. He started just 15 of a potential 51 games in his three seasons with the Colts.

The injury history was also something that held him back in his time with the Gators.

After redshirting in 2020, Richardson traded places with original starter Emory Jones for a portion of the 2021 season, being a spark off the bench in games against FAU, USF and LSU as Jones struggled with consistency. However, an early-season hamstring injury forced him to miss multiple games and allowed Jones to hold onto the starting position, and after he eventually replaced Jones as the starter, a concussion and another lower-body injury forced him to miss games against South Carolina, Samford and Missouri.

He threw for just 529 yards and six touchdowns, while adding 401 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, as a redshirt freshman.

Richardson was named the full-time starter for the 2022 season after Jones' transfer, and despite staying healthy for the season, inconsistency plagued him. He threw for 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns with 654 yards and nine touchdowns rushing, but his completion percentage (53.8 percent) and interception total (nine) held him back.

Nonetheless, the Colts took a chance based on his potential, only for his potential to never fully blossom. Now, he will get the chance to have a fresh start as his representation works with Indianapolis to find a trade partner.