Insider Provides Why Colts' Anthony Richardson Sr. is Getting Traded

The Indianapolis Colts are willing to trade away their fourth-overall draft investment, and now we know why.

Nov 30, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) walks off the field after the Indianapolis Colts lost to the Houston Texans 20-16 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christine Tannous-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Christine Tannous-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The Indianapolis Colts did what everyone expected: they allowed Anthony Richardson Sr. to seek a trade destination.

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

This wasn't a shock, but instead, the culmination of a disappointing three years that resulted in absolutely nothing from a massive draft investment.

There are a multitude of reasons why the Colts could have allowed Richardson to seek a trade, but on an episode of The Rich Eisen Show, NFL insider Tom Pelissero laid out details on why this came about.

"That was probably inevitable, I would say.

"It's also the reality, Anthony Richardson knows he has no path to be the starter in Indianapolis again.

Everything is tracking toward Daniel Jones being ready for Week 1. The Colts have been in negotiations on a contract extension, a multi-year deal to keep Daniel Jones there.

Which shows you they're not sitting there going 'well maybe Anthony can beat him out,' that was last year, it didn't happen.

So, if you're Anthony Richardson, you're at a point like Trey Lance was with the 49ers. Trey Lance was drafted number three, Richardson was number four, lot of injuries, hadn't played.

Super talented guy, we've seen that with Trey when he got in the preseason with Dallas, what he looked like last year with the Chargers. If you're Anthony Richardson, you're hoping that's your trajectory.

Just get me some place else, where I can settle in and not have the pressure on me."

Sep 21, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) warms up before the match against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Pelissero is on point here. Richardson had zero path ahead after losing the quarterback competition with Jones. The previous two seasons and everything that was involved with them also didn't help the situation.

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A few days ago, I put together a piece detailing how each party is to blame for this utter debacle.

Richardson didn't seem to take the NFL seriously, and it showed through his on field performance, as well as off of it.

Richardson's two seasons as the undisputed starter were quite underwhelming. Through those 15 games, Richardson put up 176/348 completions (50.6 percent) for 2,391 passing yards, 11 touchdowns through the air, and 13 interceptions.

Richardson also coughed up the football plenty, fumbling 12 times while struggling badly with injuries that took away 19 games.

The bad quarterbacking pales in comparison to his response to tapping out against the Houston Texans during Week 8 of the 2024 season.

"I was tired, I'm not gonna lie. That was a lot of running right there that I did. I didn't think I was going to be able to do that next play so, I just told Shane (Steichen) that I needed a break right there."

Watch: #Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson explains why he subbed out of the game in the third quarter pic.twitter.com/1aHHUAbOBV

— WISH-TV News (@WISHNews8) October 27, 2024

It was just a single mistake, but one nobody has seen from an NFL quarterback. This likely lost Richardson respect in the locker room from his teammates, as you cannot quit on your squad, especially if you're the QB.

As for Indianapolis, they grossly overestimated their abilities to take on such a massive project like Richardson.

Late CEO Jim Irsay urged his team to take Richardson, so Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen embarked on a risky journey with the incredibly raw and unproven Richardson.

Now, in 2026, it's all over for the Colts-Richardson relationship. The team is turning all efforts toward working out a deal with Daniel Jones after showing promise as Indy's quarterback for a sizeable portion of the 2025 season.

It's a sad story, there's no doubt about that. It's not often that an NFL team drafts such an inexperienced quarterback with red flags all over in the top five, only to allow him to seek a trade three years later.

Richardson will have plenty of coaches who will believe in themselves enough to mold the quarterback into what Steichen couldn't: a franchise superstar.