Colts Decline Fifth-Year Option on Anthony Richardson, Setting Up Trade or Release

The Indianapolis Colts will not pick up the fifth-year option on Anthony Richardson's rookie contract, per Fox 59's Mike Chappell, passing on a $22.483 million guarantee for the 2027 season. The decision is less a surprise than a formality: Richardson, the fourth overall pick in 2023, has started just 15 games across three seasons due to a combination of injuries and performance issues, and he is currently still rehabilitating an eye injury suffered last October.

General Manager Chris Ballard acknowledged Saturday that he 'hadn't given too much thought' to the option — which tells you everything about where the organization stands. When a front office is genuinely committed to a quarterback, that decision gets made in March. Declining it in the final hours before the Friday deadline signals what Ballard couldn't quite say out loud: the Richardson experiment in Indianapolis is effectively over. Richardson has formally requested a trade, and the Colts are working the phones to find a taker. If no deal materializes, a release becomes the live scenario.

What comes next is where things get structurally interesting for the 2026 season. Indianapolis currently lists Daniel Jones as the QB1, with Riley Leonard, Seth Henigan, and Richardson behind him on the depth chart. Jones — himself a reclamation project who played just six games for Cleveland in 2025 — is now the uncontested starter unless the Colts add competition or Richardson's trade value draws a meaningful offer. That's a quarterback room with almost no established ceiling, which has direct consequences for how every offensive weapon on this roster gets deployed and valued.

For prop bettors, the Colts' passing game should carry a significant discount heading into the season. Jones averaged just 198.4 passing yards per game in his abbreviated 2025 stint and has never eclipsed 3,205 yards in a full season. If he remains the starter, Indianapolis passing-yard totals — and by extension, receiving lines for Alec Pierce and Josh Downs — will be set against the backdrop of a quarterback who manages games rather than wins them. Expect books to set Jones's passing-yard props conservatively in the 210–230 range; the under deserves early attention until we see legitimate training camp separation. The team total is similarly capped — this offense won't be manufacturing points through the air.

On the rushing side, Jonathan Taylor remains the gravitational center of this offense, and a weak passing attack historically inflates his usage. If the Colts lean into a run-first identity — which becomes almost mandatory with Jones under center — Taylor's carries and rushing-yard lines could be undervalued early in the season. Watch for books to price Taylor's rushing attempts in the 18–20 range; games where Indianapolis is playing from behind or in bad weather could push those totals higher. The bigger story is what the Colts' offense becomes without a legitimate passing threat, and right now, that picture is bleak enough to fade aggressively.