Or doesn't want to be here

https://atozsports.com/nfl/indianapo...nfl-draft-nil/



The Indianapolis Colts and former first-round pick Anthony Richardson are heading towards a divorce this offseason.

Earlier this week, the Colts reportedly granted Richardson’s request to seek a trade out of Indy. The team’s 2023 first-round pick was never able to figure it out in Indianapolis and will now be looking for his second stop in the NFL.


Colts general manager Chris Ballard recently spoke with NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay on his podcast “The McShay Show” on an episode during the NFL Scouting Combine. One of the topics discussed wasn’t directly about Richardson, but if you listen closely, Ballard’s words apply to the young quarterback perfectly.


Chris Ballard didn’t mean to, but he basically revealed a reason Anthony Richardson wasn’t successful with the Colts
McShay asked Ballard about the most important position in sports, quarterback, and how hard it is to evaluate. Ballard went into detail about his thoughts on playing the position in today’s NFL. He shared advice to college QBs in the NIL era and, without meaning to, also revealed a major reason Richardson wasn’t able to succeed with the Colts.

“One of the real positives I think of NIL, I truly believe that if I were a quarterback, it’s not about being a first-round pick, it’s about having a career. The more snaps you can get in college, the better off you are going to be. Every kid, I don’t care if you are the first pick in the draft, if you have eligibility left, stay and be as prepared as you can, because once you enter the league, the clock starts. And if you have a 1 next to your name, it starts, and it’s ticking twice as fast as any other player in the draft’s clock. So, having those guys with play history and being ready, I think this NIL is going to be very beneficial for both quarterbacks in general, but for us, because now, if they’ll do it, they will have longer careers.

The more play experience you have, the more you’ve seen, the better chance you have for success when you get into our league. No one has cornered the market on exactly what works and what doesn’t work. It takes a little bit of luck, it takes a little bit of a kid who’s failed and struggled, it’s a good thing because they are going to struggle at our level. It’s rare when a quarterback comes in and lights it up right away. They g0tta fail, they gotta go through some hard stuff, they gotta stand on the edge of the abyss and not jump and handle it.” – Colts GM Chris Ballard

Oh man, there’s a lot to unpack there. I think it was a very insightful breakdown of the state of the quarterback position in today’s NFL, in this new era of college football where NIL (Name Image and Likeness) runs the sport. What makes it even more interesting is that Ballard wasn’t speaking about Richardson here. Still, his words apply perfectly to the team’s 2023 first-round pick and explain why he didn’t succeed in Indianapolis.

Richardson had only played in 24 college games before being drafted fourth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. And he had only one full-time season as the starter at Florida, his final year, when he started 12 games. His inexperience made people view him as a ball of clay that was ready to be molded into the next star quarterback in this league. Instead, his inexperience was evident from the moment he made the jump, and it was clear to everyone that he was not ready for the pro level.

So yes, Richardson would have benefited from returning to college to get more reps as a starter before taking the jump, but the Colts deserve some of the blame here. They elected to use a premium pick on him, knowing how inexperienced he was. And when you apply him directly to Ballard’s words above, it becomes clear that if the team could do it all over again, they would definitely do things differently.

It’s too late to help Richardson work out with the Colts, but I hope that if Ballard is still around as the team’s GM the next time they take a shot on a first-round QB, he takes his own advice when it comes to targeting a quarterback that is truly ready to play at the NFL level. Even if they choose to take one this year, on day two or preferably day three, some very experienced quarterbacks will be better prepared to make the jump to the NFL.

If I am AR, a kid who was dirt poor, how do I look past 30 million dollars that the NFL is offering me. If he had gone back to college and had the same injury he had his first year here it would have cost him tens of millions of dollars. To ask him to stay in college when there is a team willing to choose you at 4th and pay you money that will set you and your family up for generations is nuts. We all work to provide for our future and our families future. If no team was willing to pick him until the third day, maybe he would have stayed in. He absolutely made the correct decision for himself and his family. He had no power to say where he would get chosen, it was totally on the Colts for choosing him and not doing what it took to develop the man.

Agree. Colts really handled him wrong. I wish he could have stayed healthy last season to see what he had "learned" behind DJ. Especially now if we do sign DJ AR's worth could have been a lot higher. Another reason I am not too excited about getting rid of him just yet

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
·
1h
Commanders have informed former Pro-Bowl CB Marshon Lattimore that they intend to release him before the new league year begins, a move that will save the team $18.5 million in salary cap space, per sources.

Evan Sidery
@esidery
·
1h
Nick Cross is unlikely to re-sign with the Colts as they prioritize retaining Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce in free agency.

Cross, who doesn’t turn 25 until September, has blossomed into a high-caliber strong safety averaging 133 tackles over the past two seasons.

I figured this was gonna happen

Seth Walder

@SethWalder

·
6h

The Colts promoted Ashleigh Prugh from Football Analytics Fellow to Football Data Analyst, per source.

Championship!

Evan Sidery
@esidery
·
27m
There is no momentum between the Colts and Daniel Jones on a long-term deal, which means a transition tag is now the expected outcome today, per
@RapSheet
.

Indianapolis would pay Jones $37.8 million, but also give him the opportunity to find a bigger contract in free agency.

I’m ok with that.

So....

We can only use one tag per off-season...

Today is the day. By 4pm, we are tagging someone...

DJ or AP ???

Who is getting it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Puck View Post
Evan Sidery
@esidery
·
27m
There is no momentum between the Colts and Daniel Jones on a long-term deal, which means a transition tag is now the expected outcome today, per
@RapSheet
.

Indianapolis would pay Jones $37.8 million, but also give him the opportunity to find a bigger contract in free agency.



I'm not. You don't even know if he'll be ready to play on opening day.

Stephen Holder
@HolderStephen
·
1h
Update on Colts free agency:

There’s been some positive movement in the past 24 hours. Talks w Alec Pierce continue and a deal today feels possible. But long way to go. This will likely go down to the franchise tag deadline today at 4 ET.

Daniel Jones’ situation also fluid.

There really aren’t any other realistic options though.

I think they need to get DJ done first for this very reason.


Albert Breer
@AlbertBreer
·
57m
Transition-tagging QB Daniel Jones would, by rule, take away the Colts' ability to use either tag on WR Alec Pierce, who'll have a robust market. Meanwhile, Pierce wants to know who his QB will be before doing a new deal ...

More coming in our Tuesday Notes.

Yeah, but if they tag Jones, they’ll have zero leverage with Pierce and he can pretty much just go to the highest bidder.

It’s a pretty sticky situation for the Colts and why they should have extended Pierce last year.

It costs way less to tag Pierce than it does to tag Jones. I also believe the competition to sign Pierce will be keener than the competition to sign Jones. If you tag Jones, you're saying bye bye to Pierce. If you tag Pierce, you still can sign Jones. IMO

100% agree.

My vote would be to tag AP if he will not sign a new contract prior to 4pm today and still try and get DJ on a reasonable (for the team) contract knowing that he might get signed away by someone willing to pay more money.

If we’re just comparing players, I’d agree. Pierce is a MUCH better receiver than Jones is quarterback.

But the NFL is so starved for competent quarterback play that Jones will be almost as sought after as Pierce, in my opinion.

Some team like the Jets will give Jones a crazy deal if he gets to the market.

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
Another tag: The Colts are placing the transition tag on QB Daniel Jones, per sources. The transition tag is $37.833M, more than $6M cheaper than the QB franchise tag, but gives Jones the opportunity to sign an offer sheet with another team that Indianapolis would then have the right to match.

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
·
26m
Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson is not being tagged and now will become an unrestricted free agent.

Tom Pelissero
@TomPelissero
·
10m
The sides will continue to work toward a long-term deal with Daniel Jones. Meanwhile, the focus now turns to getting a deal done with Alec Pierce, who is set to be the top WR hitting free agency — if he gets there.

Spotrac
@spotrac
·
12m
QB Daniel Jones' $37.833M transition tag comes with a bit of risk, but for now, it acts as a placeholder deal to keep him off of the open market, while also securing their QB1 as they work to finalize a long-term extension with WR Alec Pierce.

https://x.com/JustinRTBColts/status/...887085328?s=20

Justin Aufiero
@JustinRTBColts
·
2h
Maybe
@Colts
can work something out here with Anthony Richardson involved?

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
·
2h
Vikings are now open to trading Pro Bowl edge rusher Jonathan Geeenard, per sources.

They would like to keep Greenard, but they also have salary cap issues they’re working through that have led to these trade conversations.

Dianna Russini
@DMRussini
·
25m
Alec Pierce’s reps and the Colts continue to negotiate at this hour, one other note that helps Indy: Alec’s brother Caden, a standout basketball player for Princeton, recently transferred… to Purdue.

For those of you that are good with contracts and draft crap. If DJ does sign with another team, would we get a comp pick in next yrs draft?

Alas, a $37m deal with DJ now puts us over the cap by about $12m once in season amounts are factored in (slots 52 and 53 on roster, practice squad, rookie contracts over vet minimum, etc).

This, IMO, now means that it is either Alex Pierce or Michael Pittman on the Colts in 2026...unless Ballard does something out of character and signs AP to a ballooning contract with low money now and huge money later or re-structures MPJ the same.

Ugh...QBs make too much of the cap. If you have one of those elusive top 5 QBs then it is worth it. If you don't, then you are paying WAY too much of a premium in cap space for a tier 2 or tier 3 guy.

Honestly? I hope someone comes along and offers DJ a contract that we cannot match. We cannot tie up that much cap space in a guy who is not a true franchise QB.

(( And yes, some of you will argue that DJ is a true franchise QB and I will counter to say he is not. While he MAY develop into one, he is not right now and we will pay him as if he is. ))

No.

If we had Franchised tagged him, then yes.

But the Transisition tag does not give picks as compensation.

The Jets? :D. That is where QBs go to die.

Not a straight up pick. A comp pick. Like when we lose any other FA If they play a certain amount. etc etc etc We could get between a 3-7 or something

Nope, transition tagged players do not factor into the comp pick formula.

In the past, they were included, but the NFL and NFLPA changed the rule about 10 years ago.

I got the answer. Yes we could get up to a 3rd. depending on the money he signs for etc. But if we sign someone in FA. Lets say Trey. Then we would lose that.


I forgot about the last part about us signing anyone.

Where did you get the answer?

You may have read outdated info because the rule has changed over the years.

UGH. I was wrong.

No, Team A (the original team) would not be entitled to a compensatory draft pick the following year if they use the transition tag on an NFL player and that player ultimately signs with another team.Here's the breakdown based on current NFL rules:The transition tag gives the original team the right of first refusal — meaning they can match any offer sheet the player signs with another team.
If the original team declines to match and the player signs elsewhere, no draft-pick compensation is awarded to the original team. This is a key difference from the non-exclusive franchise tag, where the original team would receive two first-round picks as compensation in that scenario.
Additionally, placing the transition tag on a player generally disqualifies them from generating a compensatory free agent (CFA) pick for the original team under the standard compensatory pick formula (which rewards teams for net losses of high-value unrestricted free agents in free agency). The tag itself blocks the compensatory pick avenue, and there's no automatic comp pick if the player leaves after the tag is applied.

This is why the transition tag is used much less frequently than the franchise tag — it's cheaper (based on the average of the top 10 salaries at the position rather than top 5), but it carries significantly more risk with zero guaranteed compensation if the player departs.Sources confirming this include the official NFL operations site, recent franchise/transition tag explanations from 2026 coverage (e.g., Colts on Daniel Jones), and analyses from OverTheCap, CBS Sports, and others. Rules have been consistent on this point since at least a 2016 CBA adjustment that removed prior limited precedents for transition tag comp picks.

I find it quite disturbing that this is the situation we find ourselves in as a team. Does not feel like a well run organization. We could lose both Pierce and Jones. These are supposedly cornerstones of the franchise and yet here we are with both apparently able to negotiate with other teams. WTF Ballard. He must be absolutely positive he going to be able to sign these guys.

I’ll quote Shane Steichen here but this season it’s intended for Riley Leonard


“You’re 1 play away”

I repeat my earlier answer....

No.

:)

I was going to counter that Rodgers did not die there and had a decent season in PITTSBURGH, but then remembered the injury four plays into his first season in a Jests uniform.

I think the Pittman contract is an obstacle. If we could restructure it ASAP, it would help with negotiations with Pierce. However, we need to find a contract for Pierce to know what we need to do with other contracts to make it all work within the cap. I think we will see a couple of expensive vets cut to save on the cap (Franklin comes to mind), but that can happen later, as we do not have to be under the cap until much later in the year.