It's official: the Indianapolis Colts are out on quarterback Anthony Richardson. On Tuesday, NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported that the Colts have named Daniel Jones as their starting QB... and they have no intention of looking back. Now trade speculation surrounding Richardson is already swirling, and the Pittsburgh Steelers could be the team to respond.
The Steelers are more than content with Aaron Rodgers for the 2025 season, but the future of the position remains a mystery. Rodgers has been toying with the idea of taking his teammates' advice and returning in 2026, but that's far from guaranteed, and his likelihood of coming back for a second season in Pittsburgh will depend on his performance this year.
However, if there's one thing the Steelers excel at, it's taking it slow with young players and easing them into action. Because of this, Pittsburgh could give Richardson the time to develop that he was never afforded with the Colts.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could take a gamble on an Anthony Richardson trade
We knew before he entered the NFL, Anthony Richardson was going to be a multi-year project at the quarterback position. The former Florida product started just one season in college before declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft, and he showed that he still had a lot of work to do.
With Richardson, it was about betting on the traits. At 6'4'' and 244 pounds with 4.43 speed and a rocket arm, the hope was that the young QB could prove to be some poor-man's version of Josh Allen—a purely traits-based prospect with unlimited potential.
But because that didn't happen in the first two seasons (even though injuries got in the way), the Colts are out.
Richardson turned just 23 years old in May. He's younger than rookie QB Shedeur Sanders and just three days older than 2025 first overall pick Cam Ward. The polarizing quarterback is far from a finished product, but he also only has 348 career pass attempts under his belt.
The key is patience. Any team that trades for Richardson needs to give him plenty of time to develop. The Steelers can afford to do that.
With Rodgers at the helm and a capable No. 2 in Mason Rudolph, Richardson would have the opportunity to sit and learn behind two fundamentally sound quarterbacks. Then, by as early as 2026, Richardson could be given a shot to compete for the starting job in Pittsburgh when he will still be younger than Kenny Pickett was when the Steelers drafted him in 2022.
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We need to be realistic: there's very little chance of Richardson drastically turning his career around and becoming the franchise quarterback some NFL Draft evaluators believed he could be entering the 2023 NFL Draft. But if he ever figures it out, he will be the most physically gifted quarterback in the league.
We've seen these types of experiments fail time after time. The Dallas Cowboys just took a similar stab at ex-Patriots QB Joe Mixon III, and things have been disastrous during his first preseason in Dallas. Still, the price could be right for the Steelers to gamble on Richardson.
Because of his injury history and the fact that the Colts have already given up on him, the Steelers could probably land Richardson for a 2026 fourth-round pick and maybe a late Day 3 pick in 2027. To get a QB with A+ size, arm talent, and athletic traits, it's worth a shot.
If Pittsburgh wanted to, it could send rookie quarterback Will Howard packing for Indy in the trade. That in itself may be close to the compensation the Steelers would need to execute a deal with the Colts.
Again, Richardson is unlikely to become a franchise quarterback, but the Pittsburgh Steelers can give him the time he needs to develop behind a seasoned QB room. If a trade is on the table, this would be a worthwhile swing for the fences.