Chris Ballard: Colts will have "open" competition at quarterback

The Colts selected Anthony Richardson at No. 4 overall in the 2023 draft.

But now Indianapolis is preparing to bring in another quarterback who will have a chance to start in 2025.

In his press conference at the scouting combine, Colts G.M. Chris Ballard said the club will have an "open" competition at QB heading into the season.

"It’s got to be the right guy to create real competition. But we want to create real competition," Ballard said. "I think it’s good for the team. I think it’s good for Anthony.

"We drafted Anthony high knowing it was going to take some time. And we knew there’s going to be some hiccups along the way. And I know we all want a finished product right now — I do, you do, fans do, we all do. But I think as he continues to progress in his young career, us adding competition, I think, will help [raise] everybody’s game."

As for where that quarterback to challenge Richardson will come from, Ballard said, "Everything's on the table."

Richardson, who turns just 23 in May, displayed some flashes of his potential during the 2024 season. But his overall numbers were poor, as he completed just 47.7 percent of his passes for 1,814 yards with eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 499 yards with six TDs.

Joe Flacco, who doesn’t appear to be a top option to be Richardson’s competition, completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 1,761 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions in eight appearances with six starts in 2024.

Needing to see significant improvement from the 2023 first-round pick, Ballard said they’ve heard good things from Richardson’s trainer in Florida about how he’s progressed so far this offseason.

“Last offseason, Anthony spent a lot of time rehabbing. So now, he can focus on just training and developing and getting better fundamentally — which will be fun to watch,” Baller said. “The rules are what the rules are — they can’t do as much in our building as they can outside of the building. So it’ll be interesting to see when he gets back in.

“But I think we’re going to see a good version [of Richardson]. There’s things that he’ll continue to need to work on when he’s with us. But I have a lot of faith in the guys he’s training with.”