What does it really take for a head coach to survive a third season in today’s NFL? “Coaches value consistency. Coaches value players they can trust. And above all else, coaches value the person that they believe gives them the best chance to win. It’s year three for Shane Steichen. He needs to win,” declared Ross Tucker on national radio, echoing the words on every Colts fan’s mind. That thick sense of urgency has been simmering beneath the surface in Indianapolis for months, setting the stage for a quarterback decision that would have seemed unthinkable just a year ago.

Walk into the Colts’ practice facility and you can almost feel the tension humming behind the front-office walls. Franchise expectations, pent-up from seasons of QB roulette, have merged with the pressure-cooker reality that this organization simply can’t afford to whiff at the game’s most critical position again. The topic of Anthony Richardson isn’t just a water-cooler debate — it’s the thread holding together the next era of Colts football, or unraveling it entirely.

And now, we have the verdict: On Tuesday, head coach Shane Steichen named Daniel Jones the Colts’ starter, pushing last year’s No. 4 draft pick to the bench and opening up a hornets’ nest in the locker room and beyond. “I promise you, if he thought he could win more games this year with Anthony Richardson, Anthony Richardson would be the Colts starting quarterback,” Tucker continued. But Richardson, beset by injuries, inconsistent camp play, and open questions about leadership, lost out to the veteran Jones, whose own NFL journey has been a saga of highs, lows, and turnover woes. Steichen didn’t mince words at the presser: “He’s the starting quarterback for the season. I don’t want to have a short leash on that.”

For Richardson, the gut punch was real — but he tried to toe the company line. “You’ve got to respect the decision,” he told a crowded locker room, his voice even as ever. “They feel like [Jones is] a better fit for the team, better fit for the outcome of us winning. So you just have to respect it and keep working.” The reaction behind closed doors, though, tells a grittier story.

Veteran left guard Quenton Nelson admitted, “I think I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t [frustrating]. You look around the league and see the consistency of having Patrick Mahomes or a QB behind you that’s been the franchise player for years…” Michael Pittman Jr. added a different shade, focusing on loyalty: “I just love playing for the Indianapolis Colts, so whatever we do, I’mma do.” Richardson’s agent, Deiric Jackson, however, pulled no punches, telling ESPN: “Trust is a big factor, and that is, at best, questionable right now… We have a lot to discuss.” After being relegated to the bench, Richardson could be looking at a completely different scenario with the Colts.

Anthony Richardson’s Name Floated in Trade Buzz After Steichen Commits to Jones

Even with the battle now settled, intrigue is only deepening around Anthony Richardson’s future in blue and white. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that while the Colts have not publicly floated a trade, there’s building speculation among rival execs that Richardson is on the market in all but name. “The play and the injuries have been bad enough that it’s a hard one, but if a team had a real need … he should have something,” one AFC executive mused, referencing the Trey Lance-Dallas deal as a potential comp. Richardson’s contract gives Indy control through at least 2026 — and with a fifth-year option for 2027, that’s premium prospect leverage for a former top-five pick, even if his value is slipping.

Richardson’s story is teetering on a knife’s edge. He’s just 23, plagued by “a brutal stretch,” as ESPN’s Louis Riddick put it, yet still gifted enough to make teams believe. From a pro perspective, insiders like Bruce Arians and Kurt Benkert have staked out tough-love assessments: “I think [Richardson] needed two more years of college … If you can’t do that in the NFL you’re just an average guy,” Arians said flatly.

“I hope he gets a fresh start somewhere else and can learn and reinvent himself as a QB. He has the talent — he wasn’t ready,” Benkert reflected after film study. The path forward now depends on Richardson harnessing both humility and fire: he’ll have to prove he really is the guy the Colts once thought he could be, or he may find himself bouncing between rosters, the latest cautionary tale in the league’s never-ending hunt for a franchise quarterback.

For Colts fans — and the front office — the question lingers: is this merely the next chapter of mayhem under center, or the tough decision that finally breaks the wheel and allows the franchise to move forward? Only the season will tell.