Packers Are ‘Team to Monitor’ In Potential Trade for Former First-Round QB

At the end of training camp in 2024, with no worthy backup quarterback having emerged, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst sent a seventh-round pick to the Titans for a rocket-armed, athletic, inaccurate, underachieving quarterback.

Malik Willis turned out to be a stud.

With Willis having signed a three-year contract with the Miami Dolphins in free agency, the Packers will be going back to the backup quarterback drawing board.

One rocket-armed, athletic, inaccurate, underachieving quarterback could be an option.

According to Stephen Holder, the Indianapolis Colts beat writer for ESPN.com, former first-round pick Anthony Richardson is on the trade block. Holder mentioned the Packers as a “particular team to monitor.”

Update on Colts QB Anthony Richardson, who is available via trade. No deal is imminent, per multiple sources. There are interested teams, but the dust is still settling from free agency.

One particular team to monitor: the Green Bay Packers.
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) March 14, 2026

With uncertainty in who would replace an injured Jordan Love, Richardson could be a high-upside, Willis-style swing for the fences.

Quarterback Whisperer

In two seasons with the Titans, Willis played in 11 games with three starts and completed just 53.0 percent of his passes with zero touchdowns, three interceptions and a woeful 49.4 passer rating.

With the Packers, though, he flourished under coach Matt LaFleur and the rest of the coaching staff. In an identical 11 games with three starts, he completed 78.7 percent of his passes with six touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 134.6 passer rating.

Over those two seasons, 61 quarterbacks threw at least 89 passes. Willis ranked:

First with a 134.6 passer rating. Lamar Jackson was a distant second at 113.5.

First with a 78.7 completion percentage. Tua Tagovailoa was second at 70.4 percent.

First with 10.9 yards per attempt. Jackson was a relative mile behind at 8.7.

What Willis was able to do with the Packers would have to be intriguing to a talented player like Richardson, and how Willis turned his career around in Green Bay would have to be on the mind of Gutekunst.

Anthony Richardson’s Struggles

The Colts drafted Anthony Richardson with the fourth overall pick of the 2023 draft. He’s been terrible, which is why they acquired – and re-signed – Daniel Jones.

Richardson started four games as a rookie and 11 games in 2024 but threw only two passes in 2025. The Colts were a respectable 8-7 when he started, with Richardson’s big plays at times offsetting the inaccuracy and inconsistency.

Using the same parameters as Willis, 65 quarterbacks threw at least 89 passes in 2023 and 2024. Richardson ranked:

60th with a 67.8 passer rating. The league median was 87.4.

64th with a 48.6 completion percentage. The league media was 64.2 percent.

35th with 6.9 yards per attempt.

With a highly aggressive approach, Richardson was No. 1 with 13.6 yards per completion. In 2024, when he started 11 games, he led the NFL with 14.4 yards per completion but was last with a 47.7 completion percentage.

Willis is an exceptional runner. So is Richardson, who has a career average of 5.5 yards per carry.

Maybe Richardson wasn’t ready. That’s what Willis said of his own struggles.

Echoing what he said while in Green Bay, Willis told reporters in Miami this week, “I think when I came in the league, I wasn’t prepared. That’s not a knock toward my coaches or myself. That’s just what it was coming from the system I came from. I’ve had the chance to learn the last four years, went through four different offenses, seen a bunch of different defenses. I just think I’ve grown a lot.”

Matt LaFleur Spoke Highly of Richardson

In Week 2 of the 2024 season, Willis – who had barely unpacked his suitcase following the trade – was set to make his first start with the Packers. The opponent was the Colts.

“I think he’s a big, strong, athletic quarterback that can beat you with his arm and his legs. He’s going to stress you in a lot of different ways,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Richardson before the game.

A week earlier, Richardson was 9-of-19 passing against Houston but threw for 212 yards. Along with 56 rushing yards, he accounted for 268 yards and three touchdowns. One of the touchdowns was this ridiculous throw that traveled about 66 yards in the air.

“Talented player. Fast, he’s big, he’s strong,” then-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said before the game. “You’re going to have the threat of him running the ball on first and second down, so you have to be aware of that, and then he can throw the ball as far as any quarterback I’ve ever seen in my life. You’ve got to make sure this isn’t a guy who just is a running quarterback.

“You saw what he did on those nine completions last week. It brought them back in the game; it almost won them the game. He’s got some serious arm talent. Hasn’t played in very many games, right? So he’s just going to get better and better with his touch and his accuracy, but he’s a talented guy. He’s a really good football player.”

Options and Finances

The Packers added Desmond Ridder and Kyle McCord late in the season. Ridder, a third-round pick in the same 2022 draft class that produced Richardson, has started 18 games in his career.

A statistical comparison between the two is really no comparison at all. Ridder is plus-13 in completion percentage and plus-14.8 in passer rating.

Anthony Richardson vs. Desmond Ridder | Stathead

However, the Packers would have to be intrigued by the tools Richardson would bring to the competition.

“That dude has a cannon,” then-Packers linebacker Eric Wilson said before the 2024 matchup.

Richardson would be entering Year 4 of a four-year contract worth just shy off $34 million. Most of that money was signing bonus paid by the Colts, though.

The Packers would be on the hook for his minimum base salary of $1.145 million and a $4.240 million roster bonus. That’s a significant chunk of change, especially if it’s apparent at the end of training camp that Ridder is the better option.

However, there’s comp-pick upside if Richardson has to play and has some success as he enters free agency after the 2026 season.

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