The two men competing to be the Indianapolis Colts’ starting quarterback this season have developed mutual respect for one another. That’s how the team’s star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner described the relationship between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones. Buckner extended his Colts contract in April for two years and $46 million, a month after Daniel Jones signed a one-year $14 million deal.“They came in both prepared, ready to go. They’re working together. They celebrate each other, even though they’re in competition, and that’s what you love to see,” said Buckner of Jones and Richardson at 0:14.Buckner adds that in light of the uncertainty about who will start in Week One, there are plenty of positives about the competition between the two.“You know they’re both getting equal reps, and you know at the end of the day the coach is going to make the decision and the team’s going to rally behind whoever it is, but we all know whoever that next guy is, we know he’s going to stay ready,” Buckner added at 0:27.After playing only four games in his rookie campaign because of an AC joint sprain, Richardson started 11 games for Indy last season, going 6-5 and throwing for 1,814 yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions.Jones was released by the New York Giants last November after being benched, finishing the season as Sam Darnold’s backup with the Minnesota Vikings.Buckner says there’s a lot of benefit for him and the defensive unit to have two quarterbacks getting an equal number of first-team reps.“We get to see obviously two different guys, two different looks… it keeps us prepared, on our feet, especially in the passing game. You know as a D-line, keeping our rush lanes, making sure we have the quarterback contained and not leaving big passing lanes open. So they both provide that for us,” Buckner added at 0:58.In their preseason opener last Thursday, Jones went 10/21 for 144 yards, while Richardson was 2/3 for 23 yards. The Colts lost 24-16 to the Baltimore Ravens.Richardson and Jones not highly ratedWhile Buckner seems to have a lot of confidence in both Jones and Richardson, at least one publication doesn’t seem to have a lot of faith in either’s ability. Mike Sando of The Athletic published a post on Monday ranking all the 2025 quarterbacks regarding tiers, from five being worst and one at the top. Both Jones and Richardson were seeded in tier five, with the former ranked 30th and the latter at 32.“I get nervous with Jones,” an offensive coach told Sando.“I understand if you are not very good on offense and cannot protect, there will plays when you look bad, but there are too many times where he has a guy wide open and he throws it in the dirt or 10 feet over his head.”As for Richardson, the assessment was:“He’s a freaky athlete for his size, but he’s been hurt every year because of it,” a defensive coordinator told Sando.“Unless he is rearing back and throwing the ball as far as he can and somebody runs underneath it, he’s not accurate and can’t make any of those throws.”According to Steichen, consistency will dictate who is behind centre when they host the Miami Dolphins in their regular season opener September 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium.