Whispers suggesting that polarizing Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders could fall past the first 10 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft seem to be growing louder.
With the Indianapolis Colts set to hold an uninspiring quarterback competition between 2023 first-round draft pick Anthony Richardson and free-agency acquisition Daniel Jones for their starting job, some understandably have wondered if Indianapolis could consider taking Sanders at No. 14. Colts reporter James Boyd of The Athletic addressed that subject for a piece published Thursday.
“I don’t think the Colts would draft Sanders if he’s still on the board when they pick in the first round,” Boyd wrote. “Indianapolis has already made significant investments in Richardson as the No. 4 pick in 2023 and Jones, who inked a one-year, $14M deal to compete for the starting job in Indy. Plus, you don’t draft a QB in the first round if you don’t plan on that guy becoming the face of your franchise. So, in this scenario, bringing Sanders in, even if he were to sit a year, would signify the end of the Richardson era, while also nullifying the Jones signing.”
Specifically, Jones received a one-year, $14M contract worth up to $17.7M with $13.15M guaranteed for the opportunity to compete with Richardson. That type of financial commitment suggests the Colts are already thinking about the possible “end of the Richardson era” after injuries limited him to just 15 starts over a possible 32 career contests (minus his two-game benching this past November following the “tired” controversy).
With that said, Jones’ New York Giants tenure left him damaged in multiple ways. While it’s possible either he or Richardson could flip a figurative switch, logic suggests it’s more likely neither will be Indianapolis’ QB1 two years from now.
As for Sanders, he could become either a top-nine pick or the third quarterback drafted if one team determines that Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart is the better project for the future of the two prospects. It sounds like Richardson will be given a final chance to show he can become what the Colts were hoping they were getting when they made him the fourth overall choice of the 2023 draft.
“My thinking is that he’ll be the Week 1 starter and that’s when the real ‘competition’ will begin because if Richardson is just as inaccurate as he was in 2024 — his 47.7 completion percentage ranked last in the NFL — it would be extremely hard to justify keeping him out there even if the Colts are .500,” Boyd added. “…I don’t think there’s a scenario where the Colts draft a QB or add another quarterback in free agency and that player winds up as the starter. Barring significant injuries to Richardson and Jones, at least one of the two will be QB1 in 2025.”
Such handling of the Colts’ quarterback situation could cost general manager Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen their jobs, especially if Indianapolis passes on a to-be rookie who later looks like the real deal this coming fall.
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