Colts general manager Chris Ballard emphasized two things regarding his team's quarterbacks during a 30-minute press conference Wednesday at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.
First: He didn't want the training camp and preseason performance of Daniel Jones, who last week was named the Colts' starting quarterback, to be overlooked.
"At the end of the day, Daniel won the job. Does that mean we're down on Anthony (Richardson Sr.)? No," Ballard said. "But I don't want to dismiss that Daniel's had a good run here. Reminds me a lot of Alex Smith that we had in Kansas City that I thought was the ultimate professional day in and day out, the team knew exactly what they were getting. And I feel that's kind of the same thing with Daniel."
Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, spent eight up-and-down seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs following the 2012 season. Smith's passer rating with the 49ers was 79.1; over five seasons with the Chiefs, his passer rating shot up to 94.8.
There is a blueprint for a quarterback improving after going from one team to another; beyond Smith, a few other recent quarterbacks to do that include Ryan Tannehill, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and Geno Smith.
"There's examples of guys that have had rough starts to their careers and have absolutely bounced back and had good careers," Ballard said. "And there's examples of guys who've been benched who come back and play."
The second thing: Ballard dismissed a question about dealing Richardson – "we're not trading him," he said – and emphasized he believes the 2023 No. 4 overall pick still has a future in Indianapolis.
"I know the negativity and it's easy to say, okay, he's done," Ballard said. "And I don't agree — I've said this numerous times — I do not agree with that.
"... I'm proud of Anthony, of where he's at, how far he's come. He's come miles. I want you to think back, and it's tough on any young quarterback in this league, but for him to keep taking the growth steps that he has and to work so hard, and then to not get the goal for himself, now to continue to do that — that's when we got a chance to see real growth. And there's a lot of value in sitting behind a guy that's a professional and watching and learning and growing and working on the things you need to work on without the same pressure of being the starter. There's a lot of good to that."
Ballard said he's been pleased with Richardson's approach to the current plan, which is to have him grow and develop behind the scenes while still being ready to play as the Colts' backup quarterback.
"Sometimes you've got to take a swing," Ballard said. "We took a swing and look, I'm not ready to say that we missed because I don't think we have yet. I think Anthony has a bright future. I believe that."
