Colts GM Chris Ballard issues major warning to Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson ahead of 2025 NFL Draft

The NFL is entering what may be one of the most crucial weeks leading up to the start of a new season. On April 24, the league will hold its annual Draft, where most franchises aim to secure the best possible talent for their teams. Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard knows he has Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson as his quarterbacks, but he hasn’t ruled out exploring other options.

Shane Steichen now faces a tough task in deciding who will ultimately be his starting quarterback come Week 1. While he already has two players with plenty of potential, the team wouldn’t be opposed to adding another name to that list.

Ballard recently spoke with the media, and when asked whether his team might select a quarterback in the upcoming draft to join Jones and Richardson, he didn’t rule out any possibility.

“If there’s a player that we deem is worthy of it, absolutely, yeah,” the Colts GM said. “Why wouldn’t we? Yeah.” He also added that this could open the door for internal competition among the three candidates for the starting job: “Sure. If you want to write that story, you can.”

Anthony Richardson #5 of the Indianapolis Colts looks on during the second quarter against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 29, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The QB battle between Richardson and Jones

While there’s still a long way to go before the new NFL season kicks off, the Colts aren’t looking to leave anything to chance and plan to approach every step with the utmost care. Chris Ballard recognizes that both Richardson and Jones are highly talented quarterbacks who have faced different struggles—challenges that, in his view, will ultimately help them grow and become even better players.

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“Sometimes you’ve got to be bad before you can be good at playing this game,” he said. “Sometimes you’ve got to struggle before you can be good, all right? We’ve got two guys that have had some really strong flashes and have had some bad moments, too, and that’s OK. I think both of them will be better because of this, and I think the team will be better because of it. You know, competition brings out the best in everybody, and I think we’ll see that.

“To sit here a day before we even start the offseason and have a vision of how. … You don’t want to begin with an end in mind. We’re not gonna do that. It’s like the draft. You don’t want to begin with an end in mind. You’ve got to let things play out the way they should and compete and who gives the team the best chance to win. Look, if I’m a betting man, at some point, both of them will help us.”