Originally published on Tuesday, 8/19/25, at 2:19 p.m. Eastern.
Updated on Wednesday, 8/20/25, at 8:10 a.m. Eastern.
The Indianapolis Colts named Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback earlier today ahead of Anthony Richardson, the club’s first-round pick with the #4 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Jones signed a one-year contract worth $14 million in March, and now he has a chance to resurrect his career.
“I think the guys have taken to him. He’s a great communicator with the guys. You can see that veteran presence out there. So, I’m excited for that,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said Tuesday.
When asked if the decision was a permanent move, Steichen said, “He’s our starting quarterback for the season. I don’t want to have a quick leash on that. I feel confident in his abilities.”
The 28-year-old Jones was the #6 overall selection in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft to the New York Giants. He spent six seasons as the team’s franchise QB before being benched and released last November.
In 10 games last year, Jones completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 2,070 yards with a mediocre 8/7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He had 265 rushing yards, two TDs and a 4.0 yards-per-carry average.
Jones led the Giants to only one postseason appearance in 2022. The Duke University product was fantastic in a 31-24 win at Minnesota in the NFC Wild Card Round, as he connected on 24-of-35 throws for 301 yards and two TDs without an interception. He also had 78 rushing yards on 17 attempts.
It was a different story for Jones and the Giants in a 38-7 loss at Philadelphia the following week when he completed 15-of-27 passes for 135 yards with one interception. Nevertheless, Jones was rewarded with a four-year, $160 million contract extension.
In 2023, Jones sustained a neck injury in a 31-16 loss at Miami on Oct. 8. After missing New York’s next three games, he returned in a 30-6 loss at Las Vegas. However, Jones sustained a torn ACL against the Raiders that ended his season.
Jones had his best season as a Giant in 2022. In 16 regular-season games, he completed 67.2 percent of his passes for a career-high 3,205 yards with a 15/5 TD-INT ratio. He added 708 rushing yards and seven TDs, averaging 5.9 YPC.
Jones has started 69 times in 70 career regular-season games that have all been played for the Giants, connecting on 64.1 percent of his throws for 14,582 yards with a 70/47 TD-INT ratio. He has 2,179 career rushing yards, 15 TDs and a 5.5 YPC average. However, the G-Men limped to an atrocious 24-44-1 record in those 69 starts.
Richardson has enjoyed a strong training camp, consistently making highlight-reel throws at practices. There’s been obvious improvement, making Steichen’s decision more of a head scratcher.
Richardson completed 5-of-6 passes in leading a 90-yard TD drive during the Colts’ 23-19 preseason loss at home vs. Green Bay this past Saturday. He played the entire second quarter, connecting on 6-of-11 throws for 73 yards without a turnover.
We should also point out that this spectacular throw for a big gain was called back due to a penalty. There was also a third-and-nine play in which Richardson sensed pressure and took off for nine yards to convert a first down on his lone rushing attempt.
Jones still hasn’t led Indy on a TD drive in a pair of preseason contests, so it’s not as if he’s been lighting it up. He completed 7-of-11 passes for 101 yards against the Packers.
Richardson turned 23 years old in late May. He’s younger than rookie QBs Shedeur Sanders, Will Howard Dillon Gabriel and Tyler Shough. He’s also younger than second-year signal callers Caleb Williams, Bo Nix and Michael Penix.
Richardson only started 13 games in college at Florida, and he’s only logged 15 starts in two seasons with Indianapolis. The Colts are 8-7 in those contests.
There’s zero debate on which QB has more talent, and the reality is that Richardson has to play for the organization to be able to make a more informed evaluation on him. The franchise knew that when it drafted him.
As a rookie in 2023, Richardson played in just four games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. He completed 50-of-84 passes (59.5%) for 577 yards and three TDs compared to only one interception. He added 136 rushing yards and four TDs, averaging 5.4 YPC.
In 11 games last year, Richardson connected on only 126-of-264 throws (47.7%) for 1,814 yards with an abysmal 8/12 TD-INT ratio. However, he continued to make plays with his legs, rushing for 499 yards and six TDs while averaging 5.8 YPC.
Richardson was benched after playing poorly in a 23-20 loss at Houston in late October, only to be re-inserted as the starter after the Colts lost back-to-back games with Joe Flacco under center. In his first start after being benched, he was spectacular in a 28-27 come-from-behind win at the New York Jets.
Richardson completed 20-of-30 passes for 272 yards and one TD without an interception. He also had 32 rushing yards and two TDs on 10 attempts.
Trailing 27-22 with 2:41 remaining, Indy took over at its own 30 and Richardson ran for four yards on first down. On second and six, he found WR Alec Pierce for a 39-yard gain. Next, Richardson connected with Josh Downs for a 17-yard pass to the Jets’ 10 before the two-minute warning.
After a four-yard completion to Michael Pittman, RB Jonathan Taylor ran for two yards to set up a third-and-goal play from the 4 with 51 seconds remaining. Richardson ran for a four-yard TD to put the Colts in the lead to stay.
In Week 13, Richardson was the catalyst in another comeback win at New England. The Colts were trailing 24-17 in Foxboro when they took over at their own 20 with 5:34 left.
On the sixth play of the drive, Indy was facing a fourth-and-3 situation with 3:21 left when Richardson found TE Mo Alie-Cox on an 11-yard pass. Moments later coming out of the two-minute warning, Richardson ran six yards for a first down on a fourth-and-2 play.
With 17 ticks remaining, Richardson hit Pierce for a three-yard TD pass on a fourth-and-goal play to cut the deficit to one. Steichen elected to go for two and Richardson’s two-yard run to paydirt lifted the Colts to a 25-24 win.
In his final start of the season in Week 16, Richardson helped Indy to a 38-30 home win over the Titans by rushing for 70 yards and one TD on nine attempts. He completed 7-of-11 passes for 131 yards and one TD with one interception.
Richardson sat out the last two games of the year due to a minor neck injury.
When asked about Richardson’s future, Steichen said, “He’s still learning, still growing. And for the first time in his career, this is an opportunity for him to sit at the start of a season and learning in a different light and attack it the right way.”
When facing the media for the first time Tuesday after the decision was made, Richardson handled everything the right way. He said, “No hard feelings, it’s never personal. I can’t let me not being the starter stop me from growing to be the person and player that I’m supposed to be. I just gotta stay focused and keep grinding.”
When asked if he had faith in the franchise’s plan for him, Richardson said, “I have faith in God and whatever He has in store for me. I’m trusting in Him. I can’t really think about everything else … I gotta be where I am right now, and right now I’m an Indianapolis Colt.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, most books had the Colts installed as 1.5-point home favorites vs. Miami in Week 1. FanDuel has Indy’s season win total at 7.5 flat (-110 either way).
The betting shop has Houston as a +115 favorite to win the AFC South. The Colts share the next-shortest odds (+300) with Jacksonville, and Tennessee is at +700.