The Indianapolis Colts have fielded calls from inquiring teams about trading sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson, according to multiple reports. The Colts recently benched Richardson in favor of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco. Competing organizations are checking general manager Chris Ballard's temperature and willingness to move on from his struggling young signal-caller.
Flacco and the Colts were defeated by the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, but there's no clear-cut timeline for Richardson to return to the starting lineup. The NFL trade deadline is on Tuesday. Expect Ballard to continue receiving calls on Richardson leading up to Tuesday’s mid-afternoon deadline. We've identified three franchises that should continue trying to execute a trade.
New York Giants
The New York Giants fell to a hopeless 2-7 following Sunday's divisional defeat to the Washington Commanders. It's a foregone conclusion that general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will be moving on from failed quarterback Daniel Jones in the offseason. The Giants could release Jones with a post-June-1 designation and save $30 million against the 2025 cap, according to Spotrac.
Will the Giants go the rookie quarterback route? Richardson has made 10 regular-season starts and essentially still remains in his rookie developmental phase. Daboll is an offensive-minded coach who helped oversee Josh Allen's development in Buffalo. Richardson is similarly raw, and couldn't ask for a better coach than Daboll to help him elevate his abilities.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders were blown out 41-24 by the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Head coach Antonio Pierce responded to falling to 2-7 by firing offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, offensive line coach James Cregg, and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello. The Raiders are already undergoing massive changes at the midseason mark.
The real issue with the offense is the lackluster quarterback play. Pierce has cycled through Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell all campaign long, and neither player is the long-term solution in Vegas. Following Sunday's defeat, the Raiders currently own the No. 6 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. With nine two-win teams in the NFL, drastic draft-order movement is expected weekly, guaranteeing the Raiders nothing.
Will the Raiders draft early enough to select Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward? Or will they miss out on the top quarterback prospects for a second consecutive draft? Trading for Richardson is a far better alternative.
Cleveland Browns
The Jameis Winston honeymoon era came crashing down back to reality on Sunday for the Cleveland Browns in a non-competitive loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Winston barely completed 50% of his passing attempts (26-of-46) and threw three interceptions. He was also sacked on six occasions and was fortunate to avoid additional turnovers.
Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury, but his bloated contract remains an issue for the front office. The Browns can't escape the scheduled 2025 base salary of $46 million and cap charge of $72.9 million. Watson shouldn't return as a starter, but his expensive price tag forces the Browns to land a quarterback on an affordable contract.
If drafting the successor isn't an option, trading for Richardson, who possesses three remaining years on his rookie deal, could be the best-case scenario.
