Why the Colts are in no rush to trade, release or get rid of Anthony Richardson

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The Indianapolis Colts and Anthony Richardson don't appear to have a future together beyond the 2026 NFL season.

Despite that, Indy doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get rid of Richardson. 

A trade? Richardson wants one, but none has happened yet.

A release? The Colts don't seem likely to do that.

Things are lacking chaos so completely that Richardson showed up to offseason workouts on Monday:

Colts QB Anthony Richardson reported today for voluntary offseason workouts after staying home the past two weeks, per source. With the Colts seemingly no closer to trading him, as he requested, and with no indication they’ll release him, he’s back for the time being.

Stay tuned

— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) May 4, 2026

A good point made elsewhere on social media is that Richardson needs reps, and with Daniel Jones recovering from a torn Achilles, Richardson will get action at the moment.

Still, it's a bit of a holding pattern with no clear momentum toward a change.

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Why hasn't anything happened?

The reality is that the Colts don't have a ton of incentive to trade Richardson.

Yes, a draft pick can be useful, and that would probably be the return in a deal. But it wouldn't be anything better than a mid-round selection, if that. 

Given that Richardson is in the final year of his current deal, another team wouldn't know for sure whether Richardson would get a chance to prove himself there, either, before hitting free agency.

The Colts might want to keep him around while they await news on Jones' health. They've also got Riley Leonard, but in general, trading away a QB while your starter recovers from a major injury may not be advisable.

Other teams also don't have a ton of incentive to trade for Richardson. At least at this point in the offseason, most players are healthy and most teams are trying to get a look at the guys already in the building.

The best chance for Richardson might be a preseason injury elsewhere that creates an opening that he gets a chance to fill.

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