ESPN NFL Insider/Analysts Jeremy Fowler, Dan Graziano, Ben Solak, and Seth Walder were tasked with creating four speculative trade proposals for Indianapolis Colts readily available quarterback Anthony Richardson :
Four hypothetical trade offers for Richardson
Green Bay Packers
Jeremy Fowler’s offer:
- Colts get: 2027 fifth-round pick
- Packers get: Richardson
Why this deal makes sense: Richardson wants to be in a variation of the McVay-Shanahan-LaFleur system and took notice of what Packers coach Matt LaFleur did with Malik Willis. Green Bay signed Tyrod Taylor earlier this month but at a modest $2.5 million. With this trade,
Indianapolis adds much-needed draft capital and moves forward with Riley Leonard as its No. 2 quarterback. And Green Bay asks Indy to cover a portion of Richardson’s $5.4 million in 2026 guarantees.
Chicago Bears
Dan Graziano’s offer:
- Colts get: QB Tyson Bagent
- Bears get: Richardson
Why this deal makes sense: I don’t see anyone giving up a pick for Richardson at the moment. The Bears dangled Bagent in trade offers earlier this offseason, and here he likely gives the Colts a better backup option than Leonard.
Richardson gets to learn from Bears coach Ben Johnson and maybe show enough in the preseason that he becomes appealing to another team in trade. Heck, maybe Johnson has some ideas for how to use him in a package or two. The Bears still have Case Keenum behind Caleb Williams as a veteran backup.
Detroit Lions
Ben Solak’s offer:
- Colts get: 2027 fourth-round pick
- Lions get: Richardson, 2028 seventh-round pick
Why this deal makes sense: Backup quarterback has been an issue for the Lions, as Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen have not been enough to stop the team from yanking Teddy Bridgewater away from high school coaching in Florida. General manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell tend to like quarterbacks with bigger bodies, so Richardson is a good fit. Campbell is an elite motivator who might help light a new fire under Richardson, either as a backup who prepares the right way or as a spot starter in the event of a Jared Goff injury.
Minnesota Vikings
Seth Walder’s offer:
- Colts get: 2027 fifth-round pick
- Vikings get: Richardson
Why this deal makes sense: Richardson can come to the Kevin O’Connell school of quarterbacks and learn behind another mobile QB in Kyler Murray, who is on just a one-year contract with Minnesota. Richardson’s deal expires in 2027, too, but his acquisition would give the Vikings more options going forward. Maybe Murray works out great and becomes the long-term starter in Minnesota. Or maybe Murray heads elsewhere and the Vikings see enough growth from Richardson to keep him around.
In this scenario, the Vikings could keep both Richardson and J.J. McCarthy (though that’s a pretty risky backup room) or deal the latter in another trade. For Indianapolis, it can land a little draft capital now in exchange for a third-string quarterback.
Ultimately, the verdict by ESPN’s Colts beat reporter Stephen Holder was that the Vikings would win the day here, perhaps unrelated to the fact that the Detroit Lions actually offered the most value with a 2027 4th round pick (even with the Colts giving a future 2028 7th round pick back along with Richardson in return).
For Richardson, I imagine he’s looking for a quarterback room where he can be the primary backup behind the starter, while also being paired with an offensive minded head coach, with a track record for developing QBs.
All of the teams listed as potential trade suitors arguably have the latter, but many also have veteran backups potentially entrenched as their QB2’s, with the Green Bay Packers (Tyrod Taylor), Chicago Bears (Case Keenum?), Detroit Lions (Teddy Bridgewater), and Minnesota Vikings (Carson Wentz) possibly among them.
To me, the Chicago Bears quarterback room behind Caleb Williams appears the least crowded among the quartet—as Keenum is 38-years-old; however, it’s not a pristine opportunity for Richardson either.
There doesn’t appear to be the perfect suitor for Richardson to join right now, but it’s also possible we could see a few quarterback injuries arise during training camp and preseason which could open up some new opportunities.
