Colts 2025 Training Camp Preview: Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson Sr. and the quarterback competition

The main question: Who's the Colts' starting quarterback going to be?

The players involved: Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson Sr.

Background: General manager Chris Ballard said at the NFL Combine in late February the Colts would have an open competition to determine their 2025 starting quarterback between Richardson and a TBD addition. That addition wound up being Jones, a 69-game starter with the New York Giants who signed as a free agent in March. Head coach Shane Steichen said Jones and Richardson would split reps evenly during OTA and minicamp practices this spring, but Richardson sustained an injury to his right (throwing) shoulder and missed all of veteran minicamp.

Steichen said he expects Richardson back "at some point" in training camp, and added "when he does come back, we'll ease him into throwing and then we'll go from there." Richardson's injury did not require a procedure.

What to watch in training camp: This is two-fold. First, we'll learn on July 22 – when players report to Grand Park – what Richardson's status is. When Richardson comes back is the biggest question to answer here; from there, we'll get a clearer picture of how the Colts' quarterback competition is playing out.

When Jones and Richardson are both participating in practice, though, we'll see how things are structured in the competition. During OTAs, Jones and Richardson alternated with the Colts' first-team offense on a practice-period-to-practice-period basis in an effort to get them the same number of situational reps (like most teams, the Colts focus on one situation per practice; one day could be third downs, the next could be two minute, the next could be red zone, etc.)

Back in 2023, when the Colts had Richardson competing against Gardner Minshew II during training camp, the two quarterbacks alternated days with the first-team offense.

Regardless of what the Colts' process is during training camp, the determining factor will be the same: "It's really going to come down to who's the most consistent," Steichen said.

That's why this competition shouldn't be viewed in a narrow sense – each quarterback could have good days and bad days throughout camp. But zooming out on each day and taking them in totality will give the Colts – and fans – a better idea of which quarterback will take the field at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sept. 7 against the Miami Dolphins.