The Colts decided to name Daniel Jones as the team's starting quarterback over Anthony Richardson this week. Though Indianapolis feels confident in its decision to start Jones, it also means that its decision to pick Richardson No. 4 overall in the 2023 NFL draft and develop him has likely failed.
Colts quarterbacks coach Cam Turner, who has been with the team since they drafted Richardson, was asked Wednesday if Indy failed its young third-year quarterback.
“As a position coach, you wanna see your guys succeed and be successful, naturally," Turner responded. "I feel like I’ve tried everything I can do, and I feel like he’s giving great effort in that aspect, too. I don’t think, either way, it’s one or the other. I just think right now the consistency is just not where we wanted it to be."
#Colts QBs coach Cam Turner, asked if the staff failed Anthony Richardson, AR failed the staff or they failed each other:
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) August 20, 2025
“I feel like I’ve tried everything I can do, and I feel like he’s giving great effort in that aspect, too. I don’t think, either way, it’s one or the other.” pic.twitter.com/WbY1juoIih
As with any quarterback situation that does not go to plan, there are multiple reasons for why things went wrong. Injuries have been a major factor, as well as Richardson's lack of consistency, which Turner pointed to.
Though consistency is clearly a central—and fair—reason the Colts went with Jones, it's hard to completely buy that both the Colts coaches and Richardson have tried everything and given their best effort.
With Richardson's agent, Deiric Jackson, referring Tuesday to the trust between Richardson and the Colts as "questionable," there certainly seems to be a disconnect between the two sides.
The Colts' brass has stated their plans to be patient with Richardson multiple times, but their actions have failed to follow through on that despite them knowing Richardson was a raw prospect coming out of college. Injuries have hurt, but so has benching him twice now and limiting his opportunities for reps when he hasn't even played two full seasons of NFL football.
Richardson, who infamously removed himself in the middle of the game because he was tired, has shown moments of immaturity that don't ease concerns over his inconsistent play. It's moments like those that called Richardson's effort into question, as well as if Indianapolis did enough to help him become a leader, especially since he was such a young prospect. Or did the team simply not do enough due diligence on his intangibles coming out of Florida?
Drafting Richardson appears likely to go down as a mistake for the Colts, but the bigger mistake might actually be the way they went about trying to develop the young and talented quarterback.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Colts QB Coach Had Honest Response to Question if Team Failed Anthony Richardson.
