Chris Ballard sat in the sun Monday at The Breakers resort and spoke at length with reports about his team’s QB competition as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. When the Indianapolis Colts general manager was finally asked about his team’s defense, he laughed.
“We have a defense?” Ballard asked rhetorically at the annual league meetings. “We have more players on the team?”
That’s life for a GM overseeing one of the most intriguing position battles in the NFL. All eyes will be on 2023 No. 4 pick Anthony Richardson and 2019 No. 6 pick Daniel Jones as they duke it out for the starting job, but as Ballard mentioned, the Colts have other players on their team, too. Here’s what else he had to say Monday about his quarterbacks, as well as their teammates, and what it could mean for the franchise in 2025 and beyond.
Is this year’s QB competition different from when Richardson was a rookie? He’s heading into Year 3 now — does that add an extra layer of urgency?
Ballard: Yes and no. … If you look at what’s going on in the league in terms of quarterbacks — patience with them, their developmental cycle — we have multiple examples of the carousel going on. You have guys like Baker Mayfield, who started in Cleveland, went to Carolina, (got) cut, went to the Rams, then goes to Tampa (Bay) and now is playing really good football. Sam Darnold, very similar story. You see these timelines of guys eventually getting it and maturing. Are we hopeful and would (we) like Anthony to hit his timeline sooner? Absolutely we would, but you don’t know that. I think you just gotta keep working through it. … We knew when we took him (there) were gonna be some bumps in the road.
Analysis: It would be great for the Colts if Richardson’s development went in the same direction as Mayfield’s and Darnold’s. However, both QBs resurrected their careers with other franchises. Obviously, Ballard hopes Richardson will find his footing in Indianapolis, but recent historical precedence indicates he might not. Whether Ballard wants to admit it, Richardson is facing a steep challenge to solidify his status as an NFL starter and the face of the Colts franchise. Through his first two seasons, he has missed 17 games due to injury, was benched for two games last year for a lack of game preparation and finished 2024 with the worst completion rate (47.7 percent) in the NFL. Those factors are a huge reason Jones was acquired this offseason and why he could supplant Richardson as Indy’s QB1.
It seems like the best scenario for the franchise is for Richardson to win the job and succeed. If he doesn’t, that means you (only) have Jones, whom you don’t have a long-term investment in. So, where does it put the franchise if Richardson doesn’t win the job?
Ballard: I think the best scenario is that we win football games. That’s the best scenario, no matter who the starting quarterback is. To me, that’s what it comes down to. You figure all of the rest of it out as you go along. Would it be nice if we knew we had an established starter for the next 10 years? Damn right, it would. … There were points where we thought we were gonna have that a couple of times and didn’t. But you move along.
Analysis: The more we hear from Ballard and Colts coach Shane Steichen on the QB competition, the more I feel like this is a true competition. Before Monday, my stance was that it was Richardson’s job to lose heading into the 2025 season. That could still be the case, but the messaging from the brass has been pretty unified after signing Jones: Let the best QB win.
What is your evaluation of Jones? What parts of his game stand out to you?
Ballard: We see a guy, especially when you go back in (2022) when we played against him, when he runs the football, he’s a big man, and he was really efficient whenever they ran him. But he’s also efficient as a passer, especially short to intermediate. The one thing he can get better at is pushing the ball down the field some more and deep-ball accuracy, which I think is in him. But like with any quarterback, their evolution and growth happen over time, so it’ll be fun to watch both (Jones and Richardson) grow.
Analysis: Jones arguably had the best game of his career against the Colts in 2022. He finished 19-of-24 passing for 177 yards and two TDs, while adding 11 carries for 91 yards and two more touchdowns en route to a 38-10 Giants victory. The win secured New York’s first playoff berth since 2016. Obviously, if Jones was that player more often with the Giants, they never would’ve released him. But those triumphant moments were few and far between, especially over the last two years, in which Jones went 3-13 as a starter before being benched.
Richardson is working on his throwing mechanics this offseason with biometric expert Chris Hess, who was instrumental to Josh Allen’s development as a passer. Do you think Richardson can get more consistent and accurate as a passer?
Ballard: I don’t think there’s any question he can get more consistent. … I saw this with Andrew (Luck) whenever he ended up working with Tom House that year before the (2018) season, and mechanically some things that he did to help himself with his shoulder, and I thought you saw moments with Anthony. So, here’s my take: A lot of times with quarterbacks, you see they’re real jumpy, especially when they’re young. You see real nervousness with them in the pocket and (then they get sped up). With Anthony, what I see is he’s thinking, and then at the throw point, because he’s so big and powerful, it all comes out. When he’s comfortable, when he’s in rhythm and when he really knows (what he wants to do), you see some beautiful moments.
Analysis: Richardson was at the peak of his powers last year when he returned from his two-game benching and led the Colts to a road win over the New York Jets. He was 20-of-30 passing for 272 yards and one TD, plus two more rushing touchdowns. But he produced just two full games in 2024 with a completion rate above 60 percent (the other one was when he was 7-of-11 passing in a win over the Tennessee Titans), compared to five full games with a completion rate below 50 percent. No matter how you slice it, if Richardson doesn’t drastically improve his accuracy in 2025, the Colts can’t run a functioning NFL offense with him at the helm.
Was it a collaborative approach between you and Steichen to hire Lou Anarumo as the defensive coordinator? What stood out about him?
Ballard: It’s always collaborative, but Shane, I asked him, “Where are you targeting?” And he brought up about four coordinators — like, “These guys give me issues every time we play them” — and Lou was one of them. I’d always had a great respect for Lou going back to when he was in Miami, guys he had developed. And when he got the coordinator job in Cincinnati and the work he had done, (I was impressed).
Analysis: Anarumo spent the last six years in Cincinnati before being fired and hired in Indianapolis, but Ballard mentioned that the Cincinnati Bengals had their most success — reaching back-to-back AFC championships during the 2021 and 2022 seasons — when Anarumo’s defense was cooking. Ballard is excited about Anarumo’s chameleon-like approach, which is far different from the team’s previously conservative style under Gus Bradley.
Charvarius Ward mentioned that you all made a last-second push to pull him away from signing with the New Orleans Saints in free agency. Why were you so aggressive in getting the veteran cornerback?
Ballard: It got to a point where I said, “Hey, let’s just get it done.” … He was a priority for us because we think he’s not only a professional but a really good freakin’ player.
Analysis: Ballard previously alluded to the Colts’ pursuit of pass rusher Danielle Hunter during last year’s free agency before Hunter signed in Houston. This time around, although Ballard didn’t provide specifics, he did whatever it took to get the deal done with Ward. Ballard praised Ward for his ability to lock down other teams’ top receivers and believes the trickle-down effect of that dynamic could raise the level of the entire defense. He noted that there are still other holes to fill on defense, particularly at linebacker, but he feels good about the secondary, which now includes safety Cam Bynum, too.
How would you evaluate the tight end position? What needs to change in 2025?
Ballard: Well, look, we all want a game-changer. I think every team in the league wants a game-changer. I do like the (players) we have, but do we have a game-changer? No. … I remember when we lost Jack Doyle, I was telling everybody in the building, ‘We just lost a real game-changing player.’ In my mind, Jack Doyle was freakin’ great in everything. … How he produced, it wasn’t sexy, but he was great. And do we need a game-changer? Absolutely we do. Will it happen? I can’t dictate the draft.
Analysis: This is as close as Ballard has come to flat-out saying the Colts want to draft a tight end. The Athletic’s NFL draft guru, Dane Brugler, told me at the NFL Scouting Combine that Penn State’s Tyler Warren would be a perfect fit in Indy. But will Warren still be on the board when the Colts are on the clock at No. 14? Brugler mentioned that this is a deep tight end class, so the Colts could target a different position in Round 1. However, if the Colts want better QB play in 2025, it would behoove them to seriously upgrade at tight end after years of inconsistent (or straight-up nonexistent) production.
(Photo: Jaiden Tripi / Getty Images)