INDIANAPOLIS – The future of the Indiana football quarterback is always in doubt, and the silence that hovers among the Hoosier faithful is one of softer natures. Between each snapped ball and the one that followed, there is always a human story unfolding: of potential, of hurdles, and the long shadows of yesterday and what it could be.
It comes this week: the Indianapolis Colts have named Daniel Jones as the Week 1 starter of the 2025 season. It is not a choice of direction, but a treatise of the album at the same time: it is a judgment of belief in experience and misery of a young talent not having fully found his way.
Jones Wins the Battle—but What About Richardson’s Journey?
Jones was named the starter following an intensive summer competition, head coach Shane Steichen said, based on the elements of consistency, leadership, and work ethic.
This is redemption for Jones, who played with the Giants and briefly with the Vikings. He inked a one-year deal with the Colts and now has an opportunity to redefine himself. His preseason demonstrated enough poise and maturity to win the appointment despite some doubting his prior spotty records.
In appointing Jones as a starter, however, the Colts at least sent one signal: the way forward will no longer be hypothetical. It is all set in script now as the opening scene starts at home against the Dolphins on September 7.
Richardson’s Agonizing Wait
The current 4th overall pick of 2023, Richardson, has had two quick-forward years smashed by injuries and sharp moments of brilliance, and a rollercoaster relationship with the expectation. He had lost parts of his rookie year due to damage to his shoulder, and later fought a strained oblique and a pinkie in his second year.
These physical setbacks led to lopsided performances, and that was why he lost the starting job to veteran backup Joe Flacco in the middle of the season. But in limited flashes late in the season, where the elite dynamic propulsion and impatient explosions of creativity reared their heads as well, the league would be seeing why Richardson was such a hot commodity.
To Richardson, it is like heartbreaktide, the move made by the Colts. His agent went into print about trust–and the audiences witnessed the flame of a torch go wavering in the whirlwind of youth and potential unfulfilled.
More Than Just a Role: It’s About Who the Colts Want to Be
Once you remove the stats, this Anthony Richardson versus Daniel Jones back and forth is not an argument of who spins a football tighter or can scan a defense faster. It is concerned with identity.
He is 23 years old, but Richardson feels more like a pencil drawing: raw, strokes that are bold originally, and yet to be filled with colors. He type of quarterback that can bring the fans up out of their seats on a level after a single play, and he is the future. At 28, Jones is the ink in–he is sleeker, predictable, perhaps duller but reliable.
That is the dilemma that the Colts are facing in a real sense. Are they betting on fireworks and possible mayhem, or are they trying to seek out stability and trying to hope that it is sufficient to win at this moment? Robert Griffin III, the former Washington quarterback who was not at all bashful, termed this move as perplexing, and stirred the rumors meant to suggest that perhaps Indianapolis already has its sights focused on the next golden ticket, someone or something like Arch Manning, actually down the line.
The ripple was m-in-stant even in the fantasy football world. The stock of Jones soared like the guy had touched the buy switch, and that of Richardson dipped down unnoticed. He did not do anything wrong, but that is because of how the tides can change in this league. Be it one choice, and the story changes.
A Season That Could Define Them Both
For Jones, this isn’t just another starting gig, it’s a lifeline. He’s been doubted, written off, and shuffled around, but now he walks into a season where the Colts have given him the keys to the car. And make no mistake, it’s a car loaded with talent: a bruising back in Jonathan Taylor, a reliable target in Michael Pittman Jr., and a head coach in Shane Steichen who knows how to design plays that get the most out of his quarterbacks. The opportunity is there, but so is the pressure. Jones has to prove he can steer this thing without crashing.
Richardson, meanwhile, faces a much different test, one that doesn’t take place on the field just yet. His battle is internal. He has to heal, not just from injuries, but from the sting of losing trust. Can he come back stronger, sharper, and more reliable? Can he balance the dazzling athleticism with the steadiness that wins games in December and January? Those are the questions hanging over him now.
In a way, this season isn’t just about wins and losses for either quarterback, it’s about defining who they are. For Jones, it’s a shot at rewriting a career many had already filed away. For Richardson, it’s a lesson in patience, resilience, and the long climb back to the spotlight.
