According to ESPN’s Ben Solak, the Minnesota Vikings should trade for Indianapolis Colts since demoted starting quarterback Anthony Richardson just ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline:
Richardson gets a second shot
Vikings get: QB Anthony Richardson Sr., 2026 fifth-round pick
Colts get: 2026 third-round pick, 2027 sixth-round pick (can become a conditional fifth“. . . What about Richardson, the fourth overall pick from 2023 who never panned out for the Colts? Richardson is currently on IR with a fractured orbital bone courtesy of
a fluke pregame warmup injury featuring a wayward resistance band, and he has missed plenty of time in his career with injuries. He brings a similar availability concern to that of McCarthy, and the O’Connell offense — which has almost exclusively featured pocket passers — would need to be catered to his skill set.
But O’Connell is, presumably, a Richardson believer. Remember his words to Richardson following a Week 9 game in Minnesota:
The price (a third-round pick) might look big. But Trey Lance was moved for a fourth-round pick two years into his career, and Richardson has been better and played more at a similar career stage. Plus, there’s a fifth-rounder going back.
I don’t think Richardson would walk in and immediately start (the Flacco, as we call it). But if McCarthy continues to struggle getting his ankle back to health, then Richardson would get a crack at the starting gig after a week or two of learning the offense. If McCarthy gets back in time, Richardson gives Minnesota another young dart throw at a position where it must hit on a cost-controlled player to keep the rest of the roster paid.
I don’t know how bright of a future Richardson has in the league. If he is to find one, it’s hard to imagine a better place to rebound than in Minnesota under O’Connell. As evidenced by quarterbacks across the league, almost anything is possible in the right new home.
If there was anywhere for the former 4th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft to resurrect his early career, Minnesota would arguably be at the top of any list, as it’s recently seen two former first round castoffs, Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones, have career resurrections following their short stints with offensive minded head coach Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings.
The Vikings have been rumored to be interested in Richardson in the fairly recent past, as they were reportedly trying to trade up for him ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft with a major trade haul.
That being said, Richardson recently suffered an orbital fracture during pre-game work in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals after a medical band malfunctioned at Lucas Oil Stadium.
He’s currently on injured reserve, which would keep him out for Indianapolis until at least Week 12 (with the Colts having a BYE in Week 11). However, the latest reports are that Richardson’s return this season is uncertain following recent surgery—meaning he could miss even more time, perhaps even the remainder of his 3rd season after such a weird pre-game freak accident. The guy just can’t find great injury luck right now.
To me, I have a hard time seeing a trade suitor acquiring Richardson in-season ahead of the league deadline, when he may not even be available to practice and/or play the rest of the 2025 campaign. From that perspective, an offseason deal would make a whole lot more sense.
While the trade compensation here is fair given Richardson’s initial inconsistent performances, as well as lack of collective availability, being frequently oft-injured, he’s also only making $10.8M next season, which isn’t exorbitant at all for a solid backup QB with some starting experience and upside.
Given that Jones hasn’t exactly been an NFL ironman throughout his 7-year career, and the Colts don’t have to rush to a decision on Richardson anytime soon—although one will be looming eventually on that 5th-year club option, which as of now, one would have to think Indianapolis would reasonably decline—or pick up, only to ship Richardson in an eventual deal elsewhere.
Richardson still remains enigmatic for me. We’ve seen other former first rounders turn their careers around at a future stop, whether it’s been Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and now, even the Colts’ very own Daniel Jones.
We’ve also seen some never live up to their high draft billing, even at their next NFL destination.
Richardson showed some really promising flashes as a rookie during 2023 in his first four starts before being shut down with a shoulder injury, which would eventually require season-ending surgery. He largely struggled last season, particularly with his accuracy throwing, and there were some maturity issues (i.e., the in-game tap out), which led to a 2-game in season benching before being reinserted back into the Colts starting lineup.
However, he made some strides down the season’s stretch, only to miss the team’s final 2 games because of further injury. Sometimes, one of the greatest abilities is availability, and so far, Richardson hasn’t shown nearly enough of it. If it’s not one thing, it’s seemingly another regarding a myriad of injuries he’s suffered so far.
It’s interesting because between him and Jones, one could make the case that Richardson was arguably the stronger performer on the field during this past training camp and preseason, but it was all the little things outside the whistle (showing up early/staying late at W. 56th Street, practice habits, watching film, command of the offense, pre-snap recognition, etc.) that convinced embattled 3rd-year head coach Shane Steichen that Jones was surprisingly the guy going forward—which has so far, looked like a masterful stroke of genius.
It doesn’t look great for Richardson that Jones mastered the Colts now, well-oiled offense in a matter of months since arriving this past offseason, while Richardson has been here for over 2 years, and his grasp has yet to resemble anything close to being that kind of maestro that Indiana Jones has so far been in Indianapolis.
With Jones recent surprising career resurgence leading the AFC’s current top team (and offense), Richardson’s future here is at best very murky, as it appears increasingly more likely by the week, that he’ll eventually require a fresh start elsewhere. At Jones’ current performance and pace, it would take a ‘Drew Bledsoe like injury’ for Richardson to regain the Colts starting job, and he’s not even healthy right now to actually reclaim it.
I’m not sure it’ll ever realistically all click on the field for him, but he remains incredibly physically talented and is only 23-years-old, so perhaps another offensive guru head coach can figure out the riddle and better mold him.
