GM Chris Ballard Sounds Off On Colts' QB Situation, 'Real Competition'

Anthony Richardson's second NFL season didn't go as he and the team had hoped. The Indianapolis Colts' quarterback was benched for two games midway through the year when GM Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen noticed Richardson was "drowning" on the field.

When Richardson returned to the lineup, he put together some really nice moments, including late-game comeback victories over the New York Jets and New England Patriots. However, he missed the final two games (his third and fourth of the season), with what the media would later learn was a preexisting back issue dating back to his junior high days. What was supposed to be a bounce-back season for Richardson after his rookie year was cut to four games ended with him completing a league-worst and Colts franchise record-low 47.7% of his passes.

Following the season, the Colts acknowledged that Richardson still had growing to do despite doing all the right things after his brief demotion and that they would seek competition for Richardson for the upcoming 2025 season.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard stood firm on that on Tuesday while speaking to the media at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, confirming that the Colts would be having an open competition at quarterback where "the best man wins."

"It's gotta be the right guy to create real competition, but we wanna create real competition," Ballard said. "I think it's good for the team. I think it's good for Anthony... It'll be open. And, of course, it's gotta be somebody that can really challenge from a production standpoint, too."

As for Richardson's reaction to the Colts' plans, Ballard said that he's had good conversations with Richardson, that Richardson accepts the reality of the situation and has a better understanding of the enormity of the quarterback position now versus when he came into the league as a 20-year-old in 2023.

As for how the Colts plan to address the position, Ballard was asked if "everything was on the table" between free agency, the draft, and trades, and Ballard acknowledged that all options were indeed "on the table."

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Steichen also spoke to reporters on Tuesday, and while he didn't get into how the Colts will add competition, he did speak about what he hopes to see from Richardson in 2025.

"I think consistency is the biggest thing," Steichen said. "We've had those conversations, myself and him (Richardson). Just being consistent. Obviously, staying on the field. Ya know, 15 games the last two years. Played 11 last year, did some really good things, but just looking for consistency."

Steichen also said he'd like for Richardson to be "Building on the fundamentals" this offseason and, "Obviously, continue to work on his passing. Getting the completion percentage up will be big going forward for him," Steichen continued.

The Colts enter the offseason with just two quarterbacks under contract for 2025: Richardson and practice squad player Jason Bean. Last year's backups, Joe Flacco and Sam Ehlinger, are both impending free agents.

While the Colts added Flacco last year as quality insurance behind Richardson, this offseason, they intend to be more deliberate in adding someone -- again, either through free agency, the draft, or by trade -- who can legitimately compete with Richardson for the starting role and be a productive player for the Colts offense if they do win the competition.

Regardless of who the Colts bring in, their expectations are that they see an even more improved Richardson after he experiences the first true, normal offseason of his young NFL career.

"Last offseason, Anthony spent a lot of time rehabbing, so now he can focus on just training and developing and getting better fundamentally, which will be fun to watch," Ballard said. "I talk to Tom (Gormely) pretty regularly, who trains him, and so we get pretty good updates on him. And the rules are what the rules are; they can't do as much in our building as they can outside of the building. So, it'll be interesting to see when he gets back in, but I think we're gonna see a good version.

"There's things he'll continue to need to work on when he's with us," Ballard continued. "But I have a lot of faith in the guys he's training with."

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