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The Indianapolis Colts will be under immense pressure to succeed during the 2025 NFL season. Indianapolis hired Shane Steichen as head coach back in 2023. His regime is entering its third season, a point where most NFL owners expect to start seeing results. Indy has been good, not great with Steichen. The Colts won nine games in 2023, then eight games in 2024.
If Steichen wants to save his job, the Colts will have to do better.
To give the Colts some credit, they attacked the offseason with a sense of urgency that matches this situation.
Indianapolis made a concerted effort to upgrade their defensive secondary during free agency. The Colts handed out big-money contracts to both Charvarius Ward and former Vikings safety Camryn Bynum. They join Nick Cross and Kenny Moore II to give the Colts a much-needed facelift on defense.
The Colts also addressed the offensive side of the ball too. They added some Anthony Richardson insurance in veteran Daniel Jones and brought in a huge weapon in tight end Tyler Warren.
All of this sounds good on paper, but it also has to work on the gridiron itself. That hard work begins in training camp, which begins for the Colts (and most of the rest of the NFL) on Tuesday.
If Indy does solve one of its biggest problems, they could be in for another rough season.
Will the Colts make a surprise run to the playoffs in 2025? Or will they have another losing season that results in more offseason changes?
Below we will explore the Colts' biggest fatal flaw that the team must address during training camp.
The Colts' quarterback room is complete mess
Colts fans should not be surprised to hear that the quarterback position is a mess.
Indy has certainly put a lot of effort into findings its next franchise quarterback, but it simply has not worked out yet.
The Colts will enter the third season of the Anthony Richardson era this fall. So far, it has yielded far more question than answers.
Richardson has played poorly during his first two seasons in the NFL. He has thrown for 2,391 yards with 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions spread across two seasons. Richardson looks like he's in over his head.
To compound matters, Richardson has suffered plenty of injuries during his short stint in Indy. He had shoulder surgery back in 2023 that forced him to miss the rest of the season.
Richardson missed 11 games during his rookie season and six games in 2024. He also missed time earlier this offseason during mandatory minicamp, but should be ready for training camp.
Not only do these injuries cast doubt on his future in the NFL, they make it hard to diagnose exactly what his main issues are.
But the problem is bigger than just Richardson himself.
Daniel Jones is better suited as a backup quarterback than a starter. But that doesn't mean he's the right guy for Indy.
If Richardson struggles during the 2025 season, it does not help to have a veteran like Jones on the sideline who fans might prefer.
There's also rookie Riley Leonard, but he should be a benchwarmer in 2025 unless things go terribly wrong. Still, his presence alone suggests the Colts have little faith in Richardson.
Could Anthony Richardson lose his starting job during the 2025 NFL season?
Does this mean that the Colts and Anthony Richardson are already doomed to fail?
Not necessarily. But the situation is not looking good.
Part of the problem is what looks like a fractured relationship between Richardson and head coach Shane Steichen.
Steichen made some revealing comments about their relationship during an interview shortly after the 2024 season.
“Head coach-quarterback relationship is huge in this business, and I think we made strides in those areas,” Steichen said, per Joel A. Erickson of IndyStar. ”Did we go through our adversity this year? Absolutely. But I think with anything, adversity makes you stronger in the end and that's how you learn and that's how you grow.”
That adversity included a two-game stretch where the Colts benched Richardson in favor of 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco.
Steichen tried to talk about this diplomatically, but it seems clear that he and Richardson may not see eye-to-eye anymore.
“We have ongoing conversations, me and Anthony, weekly and I'll keep those private,” Steichen said. “But again, with anything, you go through some adversity through a football season, through life, and again, I think that's what makes you stronger.”
If the Colts are forced to choose between keeping Richardson and firing Steichen, I believe they would easily choose to dump Richardson.
That makes the 2025 season incredibly important for his future in the NFL.
How do the Colts fix this problem during training camp?
Perhaps a better way to word this is, what's the best approach for the Colts during training camp?
Personally, I believe that Indy needs to go all in on Richardson as their starter in 2025. The Colts need to take this opportunity to learn everything they can about Richardson now, with the goal of making an informed decision about the future of the organization next offseason.
If Indy gives Richardson every opportunity to succeed this year, and he still fails, then it will probably be time to move on. Or who knows, maybe he'll take a big jump in his third season and establish himself as their guy.
Whichever way it goes, the Colts need to thoroughly determine their opinion of Richardson during the 2025 season.
That starts in training camp, where he needs plenty of reps with the first-team offense.
