Colts general manager Chris Ballard added fuel to the team’s budding quarterback controversy on Wednesday when he discussed the “similarities” between 2024 Week 1 starter Anthony Richardson and 2025 free-agent signing Daniel Jones.
In a video produced by the Colts team website, “Behind The Colts: 2025 Free Agency,” Ballard discussed adding Jones to the quarterback room on a one-year, $14 million contract at the start of free agency.
The nine-year general manager made it clear he views the 2019 first-round pick as legitimate competition to overtake Richardson, who the team drafted No. 4 overall in 2023, as Indianapolis’ QB1.
“Between Daniel and Anthony, you’re going to see a really good competition,” Ballard said. (h/t NFL.com)
“We thought Daniel’s skill set and Anthony’s skill set — there’s a lot of similarities there,” Ballard added. “So offensively, I think that’s going to help our offensive staff.”
Those comments, which suggest the Colts view Jones and Richardson as interchangeable, lay the groundwork for Jones potentially entering the 2025 season as the team’s starting quarterback.
Both Jones and Richardson are mobile threats. For his career, Jones has 2,179 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns on 399 carries (5.5 yards per attempt), including a career-high 708 rushing yards in 2022. Richardson has 635 career rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns on 111 carries (5.7 yards per attempt) in two seasons (15 games).
Regardless of who earns the role, neither option should excite fans. In his last 16 starts dating back to the start of the 2023 season, Jones went 3-13 with the Giants, completing 64.7 percent of his pass attempts for 2,979 yards (5.9 yards per attempt), 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Sadly, that might be an upgrade over Richardson, who had an alarming 47.7 percent completion percentage in 11 starts a season ago. After completing 54.7 percent of his passes in college, it would be overly optimistic for the Colts to believe he’ll make the improvements necessary to become their franchise quarterback.
If they give the Colts similar contributions in the running game, whoever is more consistent as a passer should have the edge. At this point, that appears to be Jones.
