The Indianapolis Colts have a little dilemma on their hands. There used to be a saying in ice hockey that when you have two goalies, you have none. Well, in the Colts’ case, they have two quarterbacks, but they essentially have none because neither one is very good. That’s not an exact comparison, but it kind of is.
General manager Chris Ballard talked about the quarterback issue a bit on a recent episode of The Rich Eisen Show. As of now, third-year signal caller Anthony Richardson and former New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings QB Dan Jones are battling it out to be the starter in Indy.
“Competition brings out the best in everybody,” Ballard said. “We’re so impatient nowadays, we have zero patience with players. If they’re not, especially the quarterback position, if they’re not a superstar right away, they’re a failure. Which I disagree with.”
Indianapolis Colts GM Talks about QB Competition
The Indianapolis Colts have a little dilemma on their hands. There used to be a saying in ice hockey that when you have two goalies, you have none. Well, in the Colts’ case, they have two quarterbacks, but they essentially have none because neither one is very good. That’s not an exact comparison, but it kind of is.
General manager Chris Ballard talked about the quarterback issue a bit on a recent episode of The Rich Eisen Show. As of now, third-year signal caller Anthony Richardson and former New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings QB Dan Jones are battling it out to be the starter in Indy.
“Competition brings out the best in everybody,” Ballard said. “We’re so impatient nowadays, we have zero patience with players. If they’re not, especially the quarterback position, if they’re not a superstar right away, they’re a failure. Which I disagree with.”
Is Richardson capable of taking the next step?
Richardson was the fourth-overall pick in the 2023 draft. He’s shown flashes of brilliance, but he also completed 44.7% of his passes last year for eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions. And, of course, he walked off the field once on his team and got benched for it. Even if you can excuse the 8-12 TD/INT ratio (tough to do)…44.7% of his passes were completed?
“The Colts want to give Richardson every opportunity to be successful, but after missing out on the playoffs each of the last four seasons, Ballard is also in a position where he needs results,” writes Paul Bertl of Colts Wire.
“While not an apples-to-apples comparison, after Richardson was benched last season, upon his return to the starting lineup, we did see improved play from him, which included leading two game-winning drives in the fourth quarter.
“I imagine the hope internally is that this summer’s quarterback battle can produce another jump for Richardson.”
Ballard wants to see Richardson and Jones fight through it
Ballard knows that both quarterbacks will have their growing pains. But, the only way for them to get better is for them fight through it and become better players, even if that might not be a realistic expectation.
“They’ve got to work through their struggles, and they have to fail, and they have to get up, and have to get better from it,” Ballard said. “I think we have two guys that are an example of that had moments of success but also had struggles. To watch both Anthony and Daniel compete against each other is going to be good for both of them. There’s nothing wrong with competition.”
Richardson and Jones will be splitting the starting quarterback reps this summer, and as Shane Steichen as said, he’s looking for consistency,” Bertle continues. “Which quarterback can take care of the football and steadily move the offense up and down the field?
“That player will end up winning the job, but as far as determining when that decision might be made, the Colts will give the competition as long as is needed for someone to emerge.”
Ballard, for what it’s worth, isn’t in any rush to make a decision.
I don’t have a timeline on it,” Ballard said. “When one of them steps forward and we think he’s the guy, then that’s the direction we’ll go.”
The truth is, only Richardson has the upside potential to get the Colts where they want to go, and so far that is not looking good. Jones is what he is, which is probably a career backup that can come in and capably win some games. If I’m Ballard, I’d keep Atlanta Falcons’ general manager Terry Fontenot on speed dial.