Bear Digest

A wild blockbuster trade with the Colts and Browns that could land the Bears the 2025 NFL Draft’s top defender

Alan Goldsher|
Could Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson be shipped out of Indy?
Could Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson be shipped out of Indy? | Grace Hollars USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

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Chicago BearsIndianapolis ColtsCleveland Browns

Chicago Bears Nation knows the pain of a disappointing first-round quarterback. See: Justin Fields, Cade McNown, and Mitchell Trubisky.

A whole lot of Indianapolis Colts supporters would put Anthony Richardson on their franchise’s iteration of that list.

Desperate for a star quarterback since the Peyton Manning Era, the Colts grabbed Richardson with the fourth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, knowing full well that the inexperienced 6’4” speedster—considering he played just 24 games of college ball while at Florida—was a boom-or-buster. But Richardson’s athleticism was (and is) off the charts, so they rolled the dice.

Thus far, it looks like said dice came up snake eyes.

In his two seasons in Indiana, the injury-prone 22-year-old started 15 games, tossing just 11 touchdowns and putting together a QBR of 67.8. To his credit, he’s been better with his legs, averaging 5.7 yards per carry and running in 10 scores. But the Colts’ record is 8-7 with Richardson in the starting lineup—not what you want out of the Draft’s number four pick.

And Chris Ballard isn’t happy.

AR-15 On Thin Ice

During his NFL Combine presser, Colts' GM Ballard put Richardson on notice, telling the assembled media throng that if the third-year man doesn’t step it up, Indy’s quarterback room might look a whole lot different come Opening Day:

"We want to create real competition. I think it's good for the team. I think it's good for Anthony. We drafted Anthony high knowing it was going to take some time and we knew there's going to be some hiccups along the way. I know we all want a finished product right now. But I think as he continues to progress in his young career, us adding competition, I think, will help up everybody's game.”

But here’s the thing: None of the current crop of Colts signal callers not named Anthony Richardson are named Peyton Manning. They’re named Joe Flacco, Sam Ehlinger, and Jason Bean.

So where’s the competition?

As it stands now, it won’t be easy for Ballard to put a logical end to the Richardson Experiment; with the Colts having just $35 million in cap space as per Over the Cap, Ballard can’t afford this offseason’s prized free agent QB, Sam Darnold, so what available QB could possibly unseat Richardson? Justin Fields? Mac Jones? Russell Wilson?


Meh.

This is where the Chicago Bears come in.

Quarterback Shuffle

Parked at the ten-spot in the first round of the NFL Draft, and armed with a pair of high second-round picks, Bears' GM Ryan Poles is in a position to make moves, especially since there won’t be a needle-mover available at ten.

Meanwhile in Ohio, Cleveland is in need of a quarterback, plus they have plenty of holes of their own to fill and could use some additional draft capital. So maybe Poles, Ballard, and Browns' GM Andrew Berry can hop on a Zoom call and hash out a deal that might look something like this:

Chicago Bears Receive:

  • Cleveland Browns 2025 first round draft pick (2)

Cleveland Browns Receive

  • QB Anthony Richardson (via IND)
  • QB Tyson Bagent (via CHI)
  • Indianapolis Colts first round pick (14)
  • Chicago Bears second round pick (39 via CAR)

Indianapolis Colts Receive

  • QB Jameis Winston (via CLE)
  • Chicago Bears 2025 first round pick (10)
  • Chicago Bears 2025 third round pick (72)
  • Cleveland Browns 2026 third round pick

Why It (More or Less) Works

  • Chicago: With the second pick, they can snatch up the Draft’s most prized EDGE, Abdul Carter (for the sake of this discussion, we’ll stipulate that Tennessee doesn’t grab Carter with the top pick), while holding on to their high-ish second-rounder. Losing the third rounder would be a blow, but Carter is a day-one starter/beast, so it’s an exceedingly reasonable decision.
  • Cleveland: They get a potential-laden quarterback who could thrive in a new environment, as well a solid backup pass thrower, a quality first-rounder, and a high second-rounder.
  • Indianapolis: The Colts move up a few spots in the first round of this year’s draft, add high-end day-two capital for both this season and next, and give themselves a chance to grab Ole Miss’ Jaxon Dart with their newly-acquired second-rounder, a rising field general who, in 2025, could apprentice for a season under 31-year-old slinger Winston.

Yes, it’s a convoluted move—three-team trades are barely ever a thing in the NFL—but it could be a win/win/win. And what more could you ask for from a wild blockbuster?

Published
Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

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