Wheels Greased for Eventual Vikings QB Option
Anthony Richardson failed to win a QB1 job on Tuesday, the Indianapolis Colts announced. Former Minnesota Vikings passer Daniel Jones won the battle.
The Vikings may already be eyeing an eventual QB2. With one quarterback missing out on QB1 duties this week, signs point to his future role coming into focus.
All signs point to Richardson remaining in Indianapolis as the QB2 in 2025, but thereafter, it’s anybody’s ballgame on his future.
And don’t be surprised if the Vikings sniff around his availability next offseason or soon after.
Anthony Richardson Poses an Intriguing QB2 Option for the Vikings Down the Road
Richardson’s days feel numbered with the team that drafted him two years ago.
Anthony Richardson Probably Isn’t Long for the Colts
ESPN’s Adam Schefter kicked off the NFL’s festivities on Tuesday, about two weeks away from the regular season, with this tweet: “A QB decision in Indy: Colts named Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback for their Sept. 7 regular-season opener vs. the Miami Dolphins per Stephen Holder and me.”
The tweet announced the end of the Colts’ high-profile quarterback battle, with Jones securing the top job in 2025.
The move also illuminated the writing on the wall: Richardson probably won’t finish his 1st-Round rookie contract in Indianapolis, which could’ve lasted all the way through 2027.
Vikings’ Revolving Door at QB2
Insert the Vikings — eventually.
Fans are already arguing right now about whether Sam Howell is the right fit for the QB2 job this season. With J.J. McCarthy’s injury history, mainly a torn meniscus twelve months ago, the backup quarterback position will likely remain a popular topic of discussion throughout future offseasons. Vikings fans, beyond the shadow of a doubt, love their backup passers.
So when Richardson becomes available — that’s trending toward the 2026 or 2027 offseason — expect him to take center stage in Vikings-themed conversations, at least among fans.
Think of it this way: Would you rather have Sam Howell as the QB2 at the moment, or a misunderstood Richardson? A healthy faction of Vikings fans would prefer the latter.
Too, Minnesota has onboarded numerous backup signal-callers under general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah: Kellen Mond, Sean Mannion, Nick Mullens, Josh Rosen, Jaren Hall, Joshua Dobbs, Daniel Jones, and Sam Darnold (until he fully secured the 2024 QB1 post).
The Vikings cycle through these guys; a spot for Richardson down the road isn’t a hot take.
The O’Connell + Richardson Respect Society
Moreover, there’s already a subtle connection between head coach Kevin O’Connell and Richardson. And, yes, it’s a rather O’Connellian one.
The Colts benched Richardson before a date with Minnesota in 2024, choosing Joe Flacco for a couple of weeks over the second-year passer. Recognizing that Richardson felt down and out by the demotion, O’Connell sought Richardson and provided words of encouragement. He embraced Richardson after Minnesota’s win, and afterward, reporters asked O’Connell about the exchange.
O’Connell replied, “I wanted to let him know how I felt. And whether it meant something to him or not, didn’t matter. And I think it’s a good thing for everybody in society to do. If you’ve got the ability to help somebody else in circumstances that maybe as they’re working through it are less than ideal, but there is a road and a path — a rather large one in my opinion to him having have a very, very successful NFL career — you should.”
“Quarterback journeys are what they are, and every single one of them has their own story. And I just felt like if I can have an opportunity to just let him know how I feel about him, and not only him and where he’s at now but where I think he’s going in the future, I thought it was a good moment to tell him that. I’m just a big fan, and if you have something to say to uplift somebody else, you might as well say it and not keep it to yourself.”
There’s a long way to go before seeing Richardson in purple and gold, but the O’Connell comments hint that Richardson wouldn’t mind trying on a career reclamation for size eventually in the Twin Cities.
After all, O’Connell is known globally as the “quarterback whisperer.”
Colts Could Move On from Richardson Next Offseason
Unless Richardson wiggles back into the starting lineup this season and promptly flourishes, the Colts are unlikely to keep him around after the 2025 campaign. Why would they? They taught the world Tuesday that he can’t beat Jones for a QB1 job — Jones isn’t necessarily an elite passer whose resume is spotless — and running him through a new quarterback battle every summer would be strange.
No matter what comes of the Colts’ 2025 campaign — they’re expected to finish around 7-10, according to sportsbooks — a different, non-Richardson alternative will likely be on the menu next offseason.
More on Richardson’s Demotion
NFL.com’s Nick Shook also broke down Richardson’s QB2 demotion on Tuesday.
He noted, “The decision to draft Richardson — a player with incredible potential but only one full season of starting experience in college at Florida — with the No. 4 pick required courage and a bit of blind faith, and to this point, the skeptics have been proven right.”
“Whether it was health issues or struggles with accuracy and professionalism, he’s failed to provide the Colts with consistency, and after losing this competition, his selection looks more like a big swing and miss than ever. That responsibility falls on Ballard, a general manager who has constructed a team good enough to consistently hover around .500 and flirt with playoff berths, but ultimately disappoint over the last four seasons. Patience has all but run out on him already, and his fate might now rest on the shoulders of Jones.”
It’s worth noting, too, that Daniel Jones is not above getting benched. Richardson could find his way under center sometime in 2025.
Shook continued, “Steichen is also feeling the heat. He did a commendable job of keeping the Colts competitive with Minshew under center in 2023 but also fell short of the postseason in heartbreaking fashion by losing a winner-take-all Week 18 game to the Houston Texans, and instead of improving upon that result in 2024, his team proved to be nothing more than average and uninspiring. Choosing Jones might seem like a risk but truly could be the opposite.”
“If the offensive-minded coach is going to keep his job beyond 2025, he’ll likely only do so with a quarterback he can trust to follow his orders and execute. If this decision doesn’t pan out and Steichen reverses course, we’ll know he’s feeling the heat. After last season ended with a thud, his seat is already warm.”
Richardson to Minnesota certainly isn’t inevitable, but he’ll likely hit the open market next offseason or in 2027, and if J.J. McCarthy is cooking, the team will need a competent backup option. Richardson — or somone like Will Levis — could check some boxes.
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