Quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson were drafted into different situations by different teams but landed on the same depth chart with the Indianapolis Colts because of indifferent results.
As the Colts approach the 2025 NFL Draft this week, general manager Chris Ballard believes one of the former top-10 picks is destined to pan out. He remains confident Richardson, who turns 23 in May, has time to turn his career around.
“Sometimes you’ve got to be bad before you can be good at playing this game. Sometimes you’ve got to struggle before you can be good, all right?” Ballard said. “We’ve got two guys that have had some really strong flashes and have had some bad moments, too — and that’s OK. I think both of them will be better because of this, and I think the team will be better because of it. You know, competition brings out the best in everybody, and I think we’ll see that.
“To sit here a day before we even start the offseason and have a vision of how … you don’t want to begin with an end in mind. We’re not going to do that. It’s like the draft. You don’t want to begin with an end in mind. You’ve got to let things play out the way they should and compete and who gives the team the best chance to win. Look, if I’m a betting man, at some point, both of them will help us.”
Ballard has been GM of the Colts since 2017. He drafted Richardson fourth overall in 2023 and signed Jones as an unrestricted free agent in March.
Richardson lost three fumbles, had 12 interceptions, eight touchdown passes and a 47.7 completion percentage in 2024. Jones had two fumbles, seven interceptions, eight touchdown passes and completed 63.3 percent of his passes with the Giants last season.
Jones was the sixth pick in 2019 with the Giants. His run with the franchise included a torn ACL and a playoff appearance before he was released last November.
The GM said a competition for the starting job will include four judges: him, head coach Shane Steichen, offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, owner Jim Irsay and come down to one obvious question: “Who gives us our best chance to win?”
