Anthony Richardson vs Daniel Jones: Who could be named the Colts' starting QB in 2025?

The Indianapolis Colts may be entering a tumultuous period at quarterback.

In 2023, the franchise, after three straight years of coping with Andrew Luck's shocking retirement with veterans in Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan, drafted dual-threat Anthony Richardson fourth overall.

The hope was that he would become the new face of the franchise. He showed promise in the first four games that he played before a shoulder injury sidelined him after Week 5. And then came 2024.

To facilitate Richardson's development, the Colts signed former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco to act as backup and mentor. The experiment was somewhat of a disaster, as the team fell from 9-8 and a near playoff berth to 8-9.

Since then, Flacco has rejoined the Cleveland Browns. To fill the veteran role, the Colts have signed former New York Giant Daniel Jones to provide "open competition". So who has the stronger case to start?

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Who between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones will be the Colts' starting QB in 2025?

As mentioned before, 2024 was a disaster for Anthony Richardson. Despite compiling a winning record (6-5), he failed to complete at least 50% of his passing attempts and threw more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (8).

Doubts were raised after Week 8 at the Houston Texans, during which he subbed himself out of a play, claiming that he "needed a breather." He was benched for Joe Flacco, only to regain the starting role after the Colts lost the next two games following six turnovers from the veteran across that stretch.

That admittedly poor performance definitely puts Richardson at risk of being demoted to backup. But rather fortunately for him, Daniel Jones might be a worse choice for Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard.

Outside of a shocking 2022 aberration that was mostly the work of running back Saquon Barkley and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, the sixth-round pick of the 2019 Draft has been underwhelming. He had already been playing poorly en route to a regression when he tore his ACL during the 2023 season, but 2024 served as a microcosm of his decline.

He lost eight of ten games before being benched and released (surprisingly throwing one more touchdown than an interception), then sitting on the Minneapolis Vikings' bench.

That being said, the competition will be tight, and Richardson will just narrowly take the job. But there is still uncertainty about his prospects in the organization with Garrett Mussmeier and Drew Allar headlining an interesting 2026 class.