Former First-Rounder Makes Appealing Option for Mahomes' Next Backup

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In 2009, Andy Reid reached out to Michael Vick at one of the lowest points in the quarterback’s life.

Head coach of the Eagles at the time, Reid already had Donovan McNabb entrenched as his starting quarterback. Now, 17 years later, Reid’s former colleague believes a similar move is in order with embattled Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson.

“Kansas City would be the exact kind of place that Anthony Richardson needs to go,” said Louis Riddick on Wednesday morning’s edition of Get Up.

Riddick who worked with Reid for five years (2008-12) as a member of the Eagles’ front office, said the coach told him that Vick was a uniquely talented induvial. Richardson is just as unique, and that’s why Riddick sees a great fit behind Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.

reid, vic — Sep 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick (7) and Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid embrace at the end of the game at Lincoln Financial Field. The Chiefs defeated the Eagles 26-16. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“Right now, Anthony Richardson needs to rehab himself in terms of how people view him,” Riddick explained, “from a pure quarterbacking standpoint and from a competitive standpoint, quite honestly. That's why I think his days in Indianapolis are over.

“Regardless of what he does there, it's never going to be good enough anymore, because they're going to look at one play. They look at one series. They're gonna say. ‘That's who you are exactly.’”

richardson, goodel — Apr 27, 2023; Kansas City, MO, USA; Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Indianapolis Colts fourth overall in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft at Union Station. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Who Richardson is, obviously, is much more than that one play in 2024. A 6-4, 244-pound athlete, selected fourth overall in the 2023 draft, he’s not even 24 years old. Ironically, he was in Kansas City when the Colts drafted him because the city hosted the event that spring.

And he’s a great candidate to come to Kansas City and learn from Reid, Mahomes and especially new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

bieniemy mahome — Feb 2, 2020; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) with offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy during a timeout from the game against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images | Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

“Look, no one's going to question Andy Reid,” Riddick said, “no one's going to question the wisdom of going ahead and sitting behind a guy like Patrick Mahomes. Considering the fact that they just brought back Eric Bieniemy for the single most important reason that they needed to really instill some accountability on that side of the football.”

No question, Richardson would fit well in the Chiefs’ quarterbacks room, which now includes another castoff, former Saints signal-caller Jake Haener. After Sam Darnold won the Super Bowl in Seattle and reached the peak of a career that began with unfulfilled expectations as a high pick in New York, Richardson would make a fantastic story if he could reverse his trajectory in Kansas City. Darnold made a similar move in 2023, spending the year behind Brock Purdy in Kyle Shanahan’s QB room with the 49ers.

darnold purd — Jan 17, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) shake hands following an NFC Divisional Round game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The more complicated question is how the Chiefs could acquire Richardson, who’s entering the final year. Indianapolis is expected to use its franchise tag on another career-resurrected quarterback, Daniel Jones, as the Colts work toward a long-term deal.

Indianapolis isn’t expected to exercise its fifth-year option by the May 1 deadline on Richardson’s rookie deal, meaning he’d be entering the final season of his contract. The Colts obviously would want to recoup anything they could from their investment in the fourth pick of the draft, so a trade would be their first preference.

Several quarterbacks in recent years have generated trade compensation, including Justin Fields, Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett and Zach Wilson, so there’s a foundation for such a trade. But Brett Veach and the Chiefs have only six draft choices as of now, prior to an expected compensatory award next month (likely a fifth-rounder for the loss of Justin Reid a year ago).

The other complication is that Richardson probably wouldn’t be coming to Kansas City in order to play a lot of snaps. Once Mahomes returns from season-ending ACL surgery early in the season, if not Week 1, the obvious goal would be never to take him off the field.

But Kansas City could certainly get creative with Richardson. Reid in 2009 with the Eagles found ways to use not only McNabb and Vick but also Kevin Kolb. Philadelphia went 11-5 to earn a playoff berth.

mcnabb vic — October 18, 2009; Oakland, CA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick (7) talks to quarterback Donovan McNabb (5) during the third quarter against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Eagles 13-9. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Vick that season played in 12 games and made one start. He finished 6 of 13 passing for 86 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. On the ground, Vick averaged 4.0 yards per carry (95 yards on 24 attempts), with two touchdowns.

“He's played in 17 games in the NFL,” added former GM Mike Tannenbaum. “We're going to be talking about, in the draft, rookies coming out that are older than 24. He is so young. And I would just say from a Colts perspective, if you move on from Anthony Richardson, that's not worst-case scenario.

“Worst-case scenario is he's really good for somebody else, not you. Again, we've seen it happen. He's otherworldly talented. It just hasn't translated on the field.”

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