Indianapolis Colts General Manager Chris Ballard said quarterback Anthony Richardson is on the hot seat.
“Just disappointed. Extremely disappointed,” said Ballard. “I hear the criticism, and it’s warranted, it is, and a lot of that falls on my shoulders. Look, four years we’ve not gone to the playoffs. We’ve not won the division since I’ve been here, not won a playoff game since 2018. I’ve got to own all that ... I’ve definitely got to own it, because it’s real, it is the truth.
“I care deeply about this organization, this city, want to do well for them, want to make them proud. And there is definitely a sense of guilt for not getting it done at this time,” he added.
The first question posed to Ballard by a reporter was about quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Ballard said he could not make that call.
“I like Anthony and Anthony’s done some really good things, but there’s been some potholes too ... We knew when we took him it was going to be a roller coaster. [At the time] I explained that it’s going to take some time but, look, I got excited too about the talent and the ‘wow’ plays but now we need the consistency down after down.”
Richardson’s play has been sporadic since being drafted by the Colts in 2023—when he was on the field. He completed less than half of his pass attempts—47.7 percent—for just 1,814 yards and 8 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. He never threw for 300 yards or more than 2 touchdowns in a game. In 8 games, he threw for less than 200 yards; he did not throw a touchdown in 5 games. His poor statistics came from poor passing: more than a quarter of his pass attempts were classified as “bad throws,” while just 58 percent of his throws were considered “on-target.” For comparison, NFL passing leader Joe Burrow had an on-target percentage of 80.3 percent while just over 1 in 10 passes—11.6 percent—were considered “bad throws.”
Ballard said there were two primary concerns for Richardson going into the offseason. The first was staying healthy—he played just four games in his rookie year due to a concussion and a shoulder injury, and 11 games this season due to a back injury, hip injury, and being benched; for a total of 15 games out of a possible 34. The second was playing with more consistency.
Ballard acknowledged that the NFL is usually very impatient with young quarterbacks, and pointed to an increasing trend of quarterbacks washing out of one team only to find success in a new situation. Ballard was optimistic that Richardson would go into this offseason healthy, since he was still recovering from the shoulder injury going into 2024. Being healthy would allow Richardson to focus on improving his play for next season.
Even though he was optimistic, Ballard said that Richardson was due for a challenge to his starting spot. “We can’t beat our head against the wall,” he said. “We’ve got to have competition at the position, just for the one for the fact that competition makes everybody better, and then two, he’s not proven he can play 17 games.”
Ballard pointed to the end of last season, when the Colts improved from 4–12 in 2022 to 9–8, and said that because he thought the team was “trending up,” he neglected to add competition to key positions.
“There’s got to be some stress ... real stress within that locker room,” Ballard said.
