Anthony Richardson's camp has stern message for Colts after Daniel Jones wins starting QB job
The young quarterback's agent, Deiric Jackson, spoke to ESPN on Tuesday after Jones was named the team's starting signal-caller, and he didn't sound happy, to say the least.
'We have a lot to discuss,' Jackson told the outlet.
Advertisement
Indianapolis quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. warms up before the Colts' preseason home loss to the Packers on Aug. 16, 2025.
AP
Jackson said making Jones the starter and 'some previous situations involving Richardson have damaged the team's credibility,' according to ESPN.
'Trust is a big factor and that is, at best, questionable right now,' Jackson said. 'Anthony came back and made the improvements in the areas he needed to improve. And by all accounts, he had a great camp.'
Advertisement
Richardson's tenure has been marked by up-and-down play and injuries since being taken at No. 4 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
He played in just four games during his rookie season in 2023 after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery that October.
Last season, Richardson played in 11 games, and famously asked out of a Week 8 loss to the Texans because he said he needed a break.
Advertisement
Still, Jackson said Richardson has done enough in a limited time over the last couple of seasons to merit more from the team.
'When they needed a big play last year,' Jackson said, according to ESPN, 'whose hands did they put the ball in? Anthony's.'
Richardson struck a slightly different tone on Tuesday after the news broke, saying there were 'no hard feelings' between him and team brass.
'[Colts head coach Shane Steichen] made a decision,' Richardson said. 'That's the decision we've got to live with, but no hard feelings, nothing personal. I've just got to keep growing. I just can't let me not being a starter stop me from going and being the person, the player that I'm supposed to be.'
Advertisement
Daniel Jones throws a pass during a Colts training camp practice earlier this season.
Getty Images
Jones signed with the Colts this offseason after being released by the Giants last November, after a rollercoaster five-and-a-half seasons in New York.
'He's the starting quarterback for the season,' Steichen said Tuesday. 'I don't want to have a short leash on that.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
27 minutes ago
- New York Times
College Football Playoff adds strength-of-record metric, recusal tweaks for selection committee
The College Football Playoff announced Wednesday revisions to its selection process, including new metrics to help the committee weigh strength of schedule and a tweak to the recusal policy for the 13-member panel. The CFP also unveiled the schedule for this year's committee rankings release. As usual, they will come out every Tuesday night during the final month of the season, starting Nov. 4. Selection Sunday for the 12-team Playoff will be Dec. 7. As the season kicks off this week, check out the schedule for the CFP selection committee to announce its 2025 rankings live on @ESPN this fall! More details from their recent meeting in preparation for the season » 🏈🏆 — College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) August 20, 2025 The 12-team playoff is in its second year and already has one major change. This year the final committee rankings will be used to seed the field, unlike in 2024, when top-four seeds and first-round byes were reserved for conference champions. There has been much discussion this offseason among the conference commissioners who manage the CFP about the format beyond this season and the role of the selection committee. More expansion — a lot more, maybe — and minimizing the role of the committee through increased automatic qualifying bids has been debated privately and publicly. Advertisement The SEC has been especially vocal about the committee putting more emphasis on strength of schedule. CFP staff tried to address that through working with its data partners on a new strength of record metric for the committee to use. 'This metric rewards teams defeating high-quality opponents while minimizing the penalty for losing to such a team. Conversely, these changes will provide minimal reward for defeating a lower-quality opponent while imposing a greater penalty for losing to such a team,' the CFP release said. Also, after there was some controversy last year about whether teams that did not play on championship weekend should be locked into their placements relative to teams that did, a clarification of the committee's procedure was made. During last season's penultimate selection show, chairman Warde Manuel said the committee would not re-order teams excluded from conference title games based on the results of those games. Notable from the CFP release after there was much discussion about rankings for teams that did and did not play championship weekend. — Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) August 20, 2025 'At the direction of the CFP management committee, the membership panel also reviewed the movement of idle teams from the penultimate to final ranking,' the release said. 'The selection committee reaffirmed that movement in the final week should be evidence-based and did not recommend creating a formal policy prohibiting such movement.' The 13-member panel is made up of current athletic directors, former coaches and players and a media member no longer actively covering the sport. Committee members have in the past been recused from discussions about and voting on schools they receive direct compensation from. Also, committee members are recused from weighing in on teams that have an immediate family member playing or coaching on them. Here is the recusal list for CFP selection committee members. — Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) August 20, 2025 This year a partial recusal will be used if the member has a secondary relationship with a school, such as an immediate family member employed by the institution but outside of the football program. Partial recusal allows the member to participate in discussions related to the team but not vote. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
New York Post
29 minutes ago
- New York Post
Apple, Netflix in middle of MLB broadcasting chaos with major changes coming
MLB is about to toss a changeup with its media partnerships. Apple TV+ potentially could soon end its union with MLB and Netflix is set to acquire the Home Run Derby, among a myriad of changes, according to Yahoo. Netflix acquiring the summer extravaganza and MLB TV being sold to ESPN for a large payment are reportedly 'all but certain.' Advertisement 5 MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. David Banks-Imagn Images The Apple portion is the current buzz, per Yahoo, but the report cautions the parties' deal lasts through 2028 and things could always change. Apple leaving would remove its 'Friday Night Baseball' package and NBC and Peacock could swoop in to have Friday and Sunday exclusive games, plus wild-card playoff contests, according to the report. Advertisement MLB's media rights — including those with Fox and TBS — reportedly end in 2028, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said last Sunday that the league planned to announce its deals soon. Earlier this year, ESPN opted out of its MLB deal following the 2025 season. The sides have since discussed a potential extension. 5 Apple's deal with MLB could soon be ending. Getty Images 5 The Netflix logo. REUTERS Advertisement 'We're having very detailed conversations with a number of parties, including ESPN,' Manfred said, as transcribed by Sports Business Journal. 'We hope to have it resolved in the next couple of weeks. It's a little bit like a jigsaw puzzle, but we will have it resolved in the next few weeks.' The Apple news is notable since its exclusive Friday game draws the ire of some fans who do not have the streaming service and therefore cannot watch their favorite teams play. Apple and MLB signed a seven-year deal worth roughly $85 million before the 2022 season, per Front Office Sports, meaning there would need to be some negotiating to end the pact early. Netflix adding the Home Run Derby would provide another live premium event to its catalogue that now includes WWE's 'Raw' and past notable events like Mike Tyson's boxing match versus Jake Paul. Advertisement 5 Cal Raleigh won this year's Home Run Derby. AP Such a move would be a blow to Fox, per FOS, since the network is eyeing ways to add more to its docket during the All-Star festivities beyond just the game itself. ESPN acquiring MLB TV would give the company access to its out-of-market portfolio, which could mesh with the company's new direct-to-consumer offering launching Thursday, per the Yahoo report. Acquiring such an asset 'is of particular interest' to ESPN, according to Front Office Sports, since chairman Jimmy Pitaro wants to be an option for in-market games. 5 ESPN's Jimmy Pitaro. AP 'That is an industry that is changing very, very rapidly,' Pitaro said last year, per FOS. 'Every day, it seems I'm reading about another team that is changing their approach in terms of local, in-market games. We want to be at least part of the solution. … We are very interested in stepping up here.' He even hinted at the possibility last year. 'That said, if Major League Baseball is able to put together a group of teams, we would love to be able to … do a larger deal that, quite honestly, would be simpler than having to do individual team deals,' Pitaro said when asked about the topic by Front Office Sports.
New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
Anatomy of a QB failure, plus the rookie with an eerily similar profile to Jefferson
Inside: Thoughts on the Colts quarterback situation and the rookie receiver who might be this year's Justin Jefferson. We'll start today with Mike Sando on a sticky QB situation. This article is from Scoop City, The Athletic's NFL newsletter. Sign up here to receive it directly in your inbox. When Anthony Richardson turned to his left during the Colts' preseason opener, away from unblocked Ravens pass rusher David Ojabo, he committed an error so basic that coaches around the NFL knew what was coming next. Anthony Richardson has exited the Colts' preseason game after taking a sack from David Ojabo. Daniel Jones is now in at QB for Indianapolis. 🎥 @nflnetwork | H/T @StevePalazzolo_ — The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 7, 2025 'The Anthony Richardson experiment is over,' one predicted, as quoted in my recent 2025 Quarterback Tiers survey. The Colts made it official Tuesday when they named Daniel Jones the starter over Richardson, who could go down as one of the biggest first-round QB busts in the history of first-round QB busts. Advertisement The reckoning for that decision is yet to come. Much will be said about the Colts making a short-sighted move because third-year coach Shane Steichen (17-17 record) and ninth-year GM Chris Ballard (62-69-1) are under pressure to win right now. But there is a bigger reality at work here: Steichen would lose credibility in the locker room if he declared Richardson the starter in the absence of any evidence that Richardson is ready to handle any aspect of the job. Richardson's scholarship is up. It's a big blow to a 2023 first-round QB class also featuring C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young. Back to you, Jacob. I grew up watching my dad run a leadership course called 'Play to Win.' It taught me the difference between playing to win and playing not to lose; the former is focused on maximizing positives, the latter on minimizing negatives. After failing to develop Richardson, Steichen hopes Jones can stabilize the floor (and save his job). It's playing not to lose 101. Steichen began his tenure in Indianapolis by playing to win. The former offensive coordinator, hired after immediate success with Justin Herbert (2020) and Jalen Hurts (2021-2022), bet on a player whose talent was so rare 'it might not come along for another 50 years,' according to one scout. Had this worked, Richardson — who is built like Derrick Henry at 6-foot-4, 244 pounds, ran a faster 40 than Henry and might have one of the strongest arms in NFL history — becomes the Colts' franchise passer, and the search since Andrew Luck's retirement mercifully ends. Steichen bet on his ability to develop Richardson. He failed. Taking a 20-year-old quarterback with just 13 starts in college is risky, especially in the first round. For perspective, Herbert started 42 college games before working with Steichen, while Hurts had played in part of 56 college games, plus had a full season of NFL experience. Advertisement Richardson's completion percentage in his final year of college (53.8) and injury history (at least four injuries in the two years prior to the 2023 draft) foreshadowed what was to come. But Steichen had faith. 'I think you can help accuracy, I definitely do, with mechanics. And I think part of it is the scheme you put them in. Don't make them think too much, and simplify the offense and build it around the quarterback,' said Steichen a month prior to drafting Richardson at No. 4. If any quarterback needed the Packers' approach of sitting rookie passers for three years, it was Richardson. The Colts brought in Gardner Minshew, but they still rushed Richardson into the starting role. The results were predictable. Injuries and inaccuracy plagued the now 23-year-old who has just 15 of a possible 34 games. His career completion percentage, 50.6, is a league-worst 16 percentage points below what an average NFL passer would complete in similar situations, per Next Gen Stats. Richardson's work ethic, leadership and toughness have also been challenged, with GM Chris Ballard telling The Athletic '[Richardson] was drowning,' and that he wishes the Colts had let Richardson sit and learn. The failure of Steichen and Richardson appears sealed after Jones' appointment. If you can't beat out Jones, who was introduced to the playbook a few months ago, should you be a starting NFL quarterback? Of course not. Richardson's accuracy needed work, and Steichen made it clear that consistency, not explosive plays or upside, was his top priority in the quarterback competition. 'Take care of the football, make good decisions with the football and really move your offense down the field,' Steichen said in April. 'The guy who's the most consistent doing that will win the job.' Only 58 percent of Richardson's throws last season were on target, while Jones' 81 percent led the NFL in his breakout 2022 season. (The league average is 75 percent). Steichen cited that 2022 season repeatedly when announcing the change, and explained that Jones offered more complete, consistent quarterback play, while Richardson 'needs to continue to develop in those areas.' Advertisement But if everything goes according to plan, Richardson — drafted two years ago, yet still younger than Shedeur Sanders — won't get a chance to develop this year. '[Jones is] the starting quarterback for the season,' Steichen said Tuesday. 'I don't want to have a short leash on that.' While choosing Jones is justified, The Athletic's James Boyd explained that there seems to be no clear plan for Richardson's development in Indianapolis, despite their front office preaching patience. 'I just think eventually Anthony's going to be who we think he can be,' Ballard said. 'I still believe that. Whether that's this year or next, I don't know when it's going to happen.' Exercising Richardson's fifth-year option next offseason, worth about $20 million guaranteed, would offer another example of playing not to lose. But unless Steichen and Ballard do some winning, someone else will make that decision. At least one rookie receiver dominates each season. Malik Nabers (1,204 yards), Ladd McConkey (1,149) and Brian Thomas (1,282) all finished among the top 10 in receiving yards last season. Puka Nacua did the same in 2023, as did Ja'Marr Chase in 2021 and Justin Jefferson in 2020. The only year without a rookie receiver among the top 10? 2022, when Garrett Wilson (15th) and Chris Olave (18th) came close. Buccaneers rookie Emeka Egbuka is my pick this year. This is a lofty comparison, but Egbuka reminds me of Justin Jefferson for several reasons. Hear me out: 1. Just as Jefferson's final season at LSU was overshadowed by a generational talent in Ja'Marr Chase, Egbuka's 2024 was clouded by Jeremiah Smith, a similar talent and Dane Brugler's top receiver in college football. 2. That pushed Egbuka to the slot, where he took 81.1 percent of his snaps for Chip Kelly's offense. Jefferson was similarly penciled as a slot-heavy receiver after 98.6 percent of his snaps came there. Advertisement 3. Jefferson and Egbuka averaged an identical 2.6 yards per route run, though Jefferson had higher total numbers in a pass-happy offense led by Joe Burrow, while Ohio State often leaned on their run game. The most startling similarity is their measurables, given that we associate Jefferson with twitchiness and Egbuka was labeled a steady, reliable presence without flash (think: Marvin Jones): Jefferson's deceptive and unique talent had pundits comparing him to Marvin Jones before the Vikings drafted him at No. 22. The similarly built and productive Egbuka went No. 19. Now, with Buccaneers receivers Jalen McMillan on the IR and Chris Godwin still not practicing, Egbuka has the opportunity to have a Jefferson-like season in an elite offense. It wouldn't be the first time. ⭐ Jayden Daniels' 2024 was magic. But was it the best rookie quarterback season this century? The Athletic ranked the top-25 rookie QB seasons since 2000. 🚷 The Steelers make an exception. Sitting Aaron Rodgers for their final preseason game makes the 41-year-old the first healthy quarterback Mike Tomlin has held out of the preseason. Mike DeFabo explains why. 🔮 AFC win totals. Austin Mock uses his model to project the 2025 season. As a Bengals believer, I hope he's right. 👔 'Normal-ass dude.' Alec Lewis shares a detailed look at Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the commodities trader turned NFL executive whose journey is anything but normal. ▶️ Yesterday's most-clicked: Matt Barrows explains why the 49ers are so injury prone, and it starts with practice speed. Thanks for joining us for our 300th newsletter! 📫 Enjoyed this read? Sign up here to receive The Athletic's free NFL newsletter in your inbox. Also, check out our other newsletters. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
