Mike Florio ,
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Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson respects the decision made by the team to make him the backup to Daniel Jones. Richardson’s agent apparently does not.
“ We have a lot to discuss ,” agent Deiric Jackson told Stephen Holder of ESPN.com, regarding Jackson’s looming conversations with the Colts about the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft. “Trust is a big factor and that is, at best, questionable right now. Anthony came back and made the improvements in the areas he needed to improve. And by all accounts, he had a great camp.”
In the assessment of the Colts, it wasn’t great enough. They’ve decided that the job should go to Jones. And, in the ultimate meritocracy of pro football, it’s hard to imagine they deliberately made the wrong decision.
If anything, a tie or something close to it would have likely gone to Richardson. After all, benching him amounts to an admission that they made a mistake when selecting him with a top-five pick.
“When they needed a big play last year,” Jackson said, “whose hands did they put the ball in? Anthony’s.”
That’s an oversimplification. Richardson was benched, after a game in which he tapped out. If “trust” is a big factor, any quarterback who decides he needs a break risks losing the trust of his teammates.
Quarterbacks don’t come out of the game. Ever. If anything, they fight to stay in when they arguably shouldn’t.
The bigger question is whether Jackson will be asking for a Richardson trade; there’s really nothing else that Jackson can do at this point. The separate question is whether Richardson and Jackson are on the same page.
Based on Richardson’s comments and Jackson’s comments, there’s a chance they might not be.
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