When news broke that Daniel Jones would miss the rest of the regular season with a torn ACL, the Indianapolis Colts had to make a decision on who would lead the franchise down the stretch as their playoff hopes continued to dim.
Would it be Anthony Richardson, the former fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft? Nope, after giving Riley Leonard some snaps against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Colts decided to pursue a blast from the past and give the nod to 44-year-old Phillip Rivers, who was a finalist for the Hall of Fame after retiring during the Pandemic.
Why didn't the Colts consider Richardson, who was on IR at the time, for this opportunity? Well, in the opinion of Shannon Sharpe on his Night Cap show with Chad Ochocinco, the answer is clear: Indianapolis no longer believes in their draftee.
“I think they’re so over him. You quit on your team. You tap yourself out,” Sharpe said. “I've never ever seen or heard of a quarterback tapping himself and coming out, and then he said he was tired.”
Ochocinco weighed in too, questioning if the Colts have been doing Richardson dirty all along.
“And you knew it was you knew what was coming, Unc, because some of the rumblings coming out of that organization, it gets out for a reason, huh?” Ochocinco added. “They signed Daniel Jones to that one-year deal for $14 million, that much more than the person that you just took in the first round.”
Sharpe agreed, noting that at this point, Richardson might just need to make a decision about his future that doesn't involve wearing a blue and white uniform for much longer.
“They did him a disservice. They said he was a project even they took him knowing this, and they started him. Anthony Richardson, bro, you got to make a decision, man. You got to make a decision,” Sharpe declared. “You're the fourth pick in the entire draft. You're immensely talented, but talent won't cut it. This is a proven league here. Potential, you know potential is Ocho, potential means you ain't done ish yet.”
If Richardson was healthy, would he have been given the nod in Week 14? It's hard to say, but Sharpe and Ochocinco do have a point about where Richardson fits into the Colts' future and what he may need to do in order to secure his own NFL future moving forward.
Anthony Richardson is the real life version of the saying “THIS 🥷🏾” because what are you doing?! You in or are you out? @ShannonSharpe @ochocinco pic.twitter.com/wwh9YyM9Kx
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) December 16, 2025



















