Colts keeping open mind about Anthony Richardson and QB competition at training camp
He's certainly not changing now.
As players reported to training camp Tuesday, Ballard told reporters he anticipates watching a vigorous battle between incumbent starter Anthony Richardson and free agent acquisition Daniel Jones. Practice begins Wednesday at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana, a suburb on the northwest side of Indianapolis.
'It's important they get into (preseason) games and we'll play both of them, ' Ballard said. 'I've told you all this before, but unfortunately growth does not happen through success; growth happens when you go through a lot of (stuff).'
Indy's top two quarterbacks certainly have been through plenty during their short NFL careers.
Since being taken No. 4 overall in the 2023 draft, Richardson has struggled to stay healthy. He's missed 19 of 34 games over the past two seasons, 17 with a variety of injuries and two when he was benched after taking himself out of a game last season because he admitted he needed a breather.
Richardson also missed Indy's three-day minicamp in June because of an injury to his throwing shoulder. While Richardson appears to be healthy for camp, Ballard said Indy likely would limit the number of throws in Westfield, Indiana, especially this week and next.
The other major concern is Richardson's accuracy.
Despite showing flashes of promise last season, the strong-armed former Florida star completed just 47.7% of his throws last season — the lowest rate among the NFL's regular starters. He's completed just 50.6% of his career passes.
But even as Ballard and third-year coach Shane Steichen opted for more competition, both have continued to believe Richardson eventually will fulfill the potential they saw in college.
'Do you think people regret Baker Mayfield's timeline? Sam Darnold's timeline?' Ballard said, referring to teams giving up too quickly on those quarterbacks. 'So how about a little patience? You've got to have a little patience with a guy and let them grow through things. If you just know 'This guy, no, he can't do it' ... but if you think, 'Hey, he's on the right trajectory' why are you going to flush him? I think we need to give Anthony every chance to be the best he can be.'
Steichen and the quarterbacks are scheduled to talk with reporters Wednesday.
The biggest concern for Jones has been consistency.
The No. 6 overall selection in the 2019 draft struggled early in his career with the New York Giants, but appeared to right things when he helped them reach the 2022 playoffs. New York rewarded Jones with a four-year, $160 million contract extension only to watch him struggle again.
He threw two TD passes in an injury-marred 2023 season and had eight TD passes and seven interceptions in 10 games last season before being benched and eventually released.
Jones finished the season in Minnesota, which let him leave in free agency.
'He's been through a lot,' Ballard said, referring to Jones. 'Being in New York and the scrutiny of being a top-10 pick, it's not for everybody. But I thought he handled it with grace and class like you would expect, and that's who he is. Daniel's a very talented player, so it's going to be a fun competition to watch.'
It's unclear who holds the upper hand heading into camp or how the Colts intend to divvy up the snaps.
So Indy's top offensive playmakers — running back Jonathan Taylor and receiver Michael Pittman — are preparing to play with both.
'It's probably not what most teams are doing, but I mean you've got to do what you do,' Pittman said. "It's competition and that's the great thing about football is you compete every single year. So everybody's out here competing."
Ballard wouldn't say when he expects a decision on the starter.
But he knows the Colts will have a better chance of snapping a four-year playoff drought if they have a clear-cut winner before the Sept. 7 opener against Miami — and if that winner stays healthy.
'We have the one position we all know — we have to get the quarterback settled,' Ballard said. 'That position is so important to the state of your team when you've got that position solidified. Look, it's one of 53 and it's not all about him, but he's an important piece.'
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
16 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
2025 San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Preview: A shifting skill position landscape?
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan runs a fantasy-friendly, balanced offense that features motion, targeting the center of the field and an efficient rushing attack. The 2024 49ers banked top-12 finishes in EPA per play (0.06), success rate (46.0 percent), plays with motion (654), centerfield targets (96) and EPA per rushing attempt (-0.057). Fantasy managers should again rely on Shanahan and his unwavering commitment to the system in 2025. 2024 San Francisco 49ers Stats (rank) Points per game: 22.9 (14th) Total yards per game: 376.3 (4th) Plays per game: 60.4 (27th) Dropbacks per game: 38.6 (21st) Dropback EPA per play: 0.14 (9th) Rush attempts per game: 26.9 (15th) Rush EPA per play: -0.06 (12th) Can Brock Purdy return to the QB1 ranks? Brock Purdy recently secured a five-year, $265 million contract extension that includes a half-decade no-trade clause, tying him with Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff for the seventh-highest salary in average annual value ($53 million). The 49ers' passing attack notched ninth-place finishes in both EPA per dropback (0.143) and dropback success rate (50.0 percent) last season. While Purdy's talented and deep receiving corps contains more availability concerns than it has in years past, this remains a fantasy-friendly unit. Passing Game QB: Brock Purdy, Joshua Dobbs WR: Brandon Aiyuk, Demarcus Robinson WR: Jauan Jennings, Jacob Cowing WR: Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Watkins TE: George Kittle, Luke Farrell Purdy's pass-catching corps is chock-full of talented players, though five of the top-six wide receivers carry at least mild availability concerns. The 49ers recently placed No. 1 wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on the active/physically unable to perform list (PUP) as he recovers from ACL and MCL tears suffered in Week 7. He remains a candidate for the in-season reserve/PUP list, which would require him to miss at least four games. The team's No. 2 wide receiver Jauan Jennings requested a new contract after his 2024 breakout campaign, catching 77-of-111 targets for 975 yards and six touchdowns. Second-year wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was placed on the active/PUP list on July 18th, nursing a hamstring strain suffered on May 29th. His injury history includes a prior hamstring strain, a shoulder injury and a gunshot wound to the chest. No. 4 wide receiver Demarcus Robinson awaits a potential suspension after pleading no contest to a DUI charge. Should one of the three wide receiver above him miss time, he would garner WR5/6 consideration. No. 5 wide receiver Jacob Cowing recently strained his hamstring. His return-to-play date is unknown, though Cowing has failed to prove himself fantasy-relevant through two NFL seasons. Between training camp and the preseason, healthy NFL players are afforded a six-week-plus ramp-up period to prepare their bodies for regular season rigors. Last year, Aiyuk sat out spring practices, training camp and preseason play before signing a lucrative extension on August 29th. He experienced a 0.91-yard decline (1.74) from the 2.65 yards per route run (YPRR) he averaged in 2023 before suffering the double-ligament injury on October 20th. Should Aiyuk return from reserve/PUP in Week 5, he will likely require a multi-week ramp-up period before (hopefully) returning to to the high-end WR2 form that he maintained in 2022 and 2023. Jennings is currently practicing despite the raise request, putting him on track to assume de facto No. 1 wide receiver duties if Aiyuk is unready in Week 1. Shanahan told reporters that Pearsall is currently participating in conditioning testing. He expects Pearsall to resume practicing with the team on Sunday, July 27th, giving fantasy managers a checkable benchmark. Jennings (67.6 percent perimeter rate, 32.4 percent slot rate) and Pearsall (68.3 percent perimeter rate, 31.7 percent slot rate) were used interchangeably in the season's final three weeks last year while tying tight end George Kittle for a team-high 18 receptions. Jennings averaged 1.70 YPRR while Pearsall broke out via 2.17 YPRR. Assuming good late-season health for Aiyuk, Jennings and Pearsall, it is prudent to expect near-even target distribution, potentially clumping all three in the WR3/flex range. Aggravating variance will occur. Pearsall, perhaps quietly, offers the highest upside as the ascending, young player. Kittle is the pass-catching corps' most reliable fantasy option, boasting five combined All-Pro accolades over his eight pro seasons. Among his position's top-12 target earners across the full 2024 NFL season, Kittle's 2.62 YPRR astonishingly led the pack by 0.48 yards. Treat him accordingly. Unlike the 49ers' other rookies, fourth-round wide receiver Jordan Watkins had a 'prominent role' during voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) and drew 'guarded praise' from Shanahan for his showing at mandatory minicamp. Watkins should not be expected to have a fantasy-relevant role in year one, but his positive progress is noteworthy. Jumping from sixth to fourth on the depth chart before Week 1 is at least possible. The former Ole Miss player averaged 2.54 YPRR in his final college season. Watkins must be rostered in dynasty formats. If San Francisco's pass-catchers are getting open, Purdy will find them. Among 32 NFL quarterbacks with at least 300 dropbacks last year, he ranks 11th in PFF's accuracy-plus rating (16.8 percent) and third in yards per passing attempt (8.5). Given the pass-catching corps' fluid status, Purdy's rushing upside may currently be underrated. He notched career-highs in rushes (66), yards after contact per attempt (2.47), missed tackles forced (12) and explosive runs (12) in 2024. Among 18 quarterbacks with at least 10 red zone rushing attempts across the full season, Purdy tied for a league-best 60.0 percent first-down and/or touchdown conversion rate. His 82.4 PFF red zone rushing grade ranks second. Purdy finished as 2024's QB14, totaling nine weekly finishes as the QB4-QB11 last year, including four finishes ranking QB4-QB5. He should be treated as a high-floor QB1 with mid-tier upside. Running Game RB: Christian McCaffrey, Isaac Guerendo, Jordan James, Patrick Taylor Jr., Corey Kiner OL (L-R): Trent Williams, Ben Bartch, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, Colton McKivitz While veteran left tackle Trent Williams protects Purdy's blindside, second-year right guard Dominick Puni grades roads on the right. His 81.5 PFF run-blocking grade ranks fifth among NFL right guards with at least 460 offensive blocking snaps. On paper, running back Christian McCaffrey is an RB1. The 29-year-old running back has access to a high-volume, dual-threat workload, aided by Shanahan's schematic efficiencies; McCaffrey's backups combined for six RB1 finishes in his 13 missed games. Backup running back Isaac Guerendo elevates to the No. 2 role, with Jordan Mason now a Minnesota Viking. Last year, fantasy managers largely ignored McCaffrey's season-to-season recurrence risk regarding his late-2023 calf strain despite August 2024 reports indicating the strain had returned, leading to Achilles tendinitis along the way. The tendinitis later blossomed into a bilateral issue. McCaffrey then suffered a season-ending PCL sprain in Week 13. He is currently healthy and as long as he remains so, he can be expected to return RB1 value. Although he averaged a career-low 0.1 missed tackles forced per rushing attempt last year, he was an efficient pass catcher, averaging 1.60 YPRR, ranking fifth among 54 NFL running backs with at least 19 targets. The 49ers are seemingly taking a conservative approach to injury management this summer, which bodes positively for McCaffrey's season-long availability. His current, late-first-round PPR ADP is slightly aggressive, albeit understandable given his upside. Fantasy managers should consider McCaffrey an overall RB1 contender while acknowledging one's chosen increased risk exposure. Guerendo (6-foot-1, 225 pounds, 4.33-second 40-yard dash) is a speedy, imposing rusher and receiver, who quietly averaged 1.42 YPRR, catching 15-of-16 targets for 152 yards last year. He is an elite bellcow backup. Fifth-round rookie running back Jordan James should be rostered in dynasty formats and is a name to know in re-draft, should injuries occur. Rotoworld Staff, 2025 San Francisco 49ers Win Total Vegas currently has the 49ers' win total installed at 10.5, making them one of just six teams sitting in double-digits. Both Warren Sharp and PFF chart them as having the NFL's softest schedule. PFF forecasts a 10-win season, again making them one of just six teams sitting at double-digits in this respective category. A scenario exists where roster-wide availability concerns flare, but Shanahan's scheming, coupled with a dependably soft schedule, keeps their chances of hitting the over intact. Chris Simms dives into why San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy falls into the "Scheme Dream" tier of his 2025 QB Countdown.
Hamilton Spectator
39 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Detroit Lions offensive line is a work in progress a year after being among NFL's best
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions had one of the NFL's best offensive lines last season. This year is more of a work in progress. Center Frank Ragnow's retirement and the loss of right guard Kevin Zeitler in free agency have opened up competition for at least two new starters. Graham Glasgow, who started at left guard last season and has experience at center, along with rookie Tate Ratledge are getting reps at center through four days of training camp. And then there's the banged-up veteran Taylor Decker at left tackle. 'It's been great. Tate, I thought, was doing a good job. Graham was in there today and I've been comfortable with Graham for quite some time,'' Lions quarterback Jared Goff said on Thursday. 'Whoever it ends up being I'll be good with.'' After Ratledge saw the bulk of center reps the first three days of camp, Glasgow took the center snaps Thursday. Ratledge played only guard at Georgia except for a few practice snaps at center. So he's adjusting to the NFL game and to playing a new position. 'I think just the speed of everything happening. At guard you have a little bit of a delay being off the ball and then, of course, you get up here and you're going against quicker guys,'' Ratledge said. He has no preference for guard or center. 'I enjoy football, it doesn't matter where I am on the field,'' said Ratledge, a second-round pick who sports a John Wayne tattoo on his left bicep. Coach Dan Campbell said earlier in the week that he will keep his eye on the offensive line. '(Ratledge is) getting it all at once. It's everything, it is. It's the mental and it's the technique of it. So, yeah, look we're putting a lot on him,'' Campbell said. 'He's drinking out of a fire hose right now. But there are things that we saw with him in college at Georgia that we felt like, 'You know what? We think this guy can play center.'' Decker remains sidelined while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but is expected to join the team after the Hall of Fame game on July 31. He's been on the sidelines at camp daily. 'The standard is the standard. We're expected to be one of the top offensive lines in the league,'' Decker said. 'You lose big pieces, but we've put those expectations on ourselves and put ourselves in a position where we're expected to perform a certain way and it doesn't matter.'' Pro Bowl right tackle Penei Sewell is healthy and practicing daily. Christian Mahogany has been a sort of utility lineman for the Lions the past couple of years. He played in seven games in 2024 and started two, including a playoff game. Kayode Awosika, who started 11 games at guard in 2024, will also contend for a starting guard spot. NOTES: Lions LB Alex Anzalone, who has not participated in camp, was on the sidelines again Thursday in street clothes. He told reporters earlier in the week that he is disappointed the Lions have not signed him to a contract extension. INJURIES: LB Derrick Barnes (hand) and CB Terrion Arnold (leg) left practice early to be evaluated further for their injuries. … CB Ennis Rakestraw (chest) was working on the sidelines but has not practiced since he was injured on Sunday. He's expected to return within days. ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
North Carolina's Bill Belichick notes biggest differences in coaching college players vs. NFL players
Bill Belichick detailed some of the things he's noticed in his months working with college players compared to his time in the NFL on Thursday at ACC media day. The new North Carolina coach was asked about the differences between coaching college players and professional players and noted how quickly college players show improvement compared to players in the NFL. 'The great thing about working with the college players is just the growth and the development that we've seen,' Belichick said in his news conference. ' … Saw a little bit of that last year when I was at Washington with [Huskies coach Jedd Fisch] and [current North Carolina defensive coordinator Steve Belichick] out there. To see how much the players improve from the spring to the start of training camp and this year of course we haven't started training camp but through the course of the spring the amount of improvement our players made in those 15 days — most of which were in pads was something that you never saw in the NFL because you could never wear pads in the offseason.' In case you were wondering, Belichick was not asked about his relationship with Jordon Hudson during his time at the main podium. Belichick, who spent the 2024 season out of coaching, was hired in December to replace Mack Brown at North Carolina despite never coaching at the college level. Belichick got his first coaching job in the NFL in the 1970s as a low-level assistant and worked his way up through the ranks in the NFL. He's just the second Super Bowl-winning coach to coach a college football team after winning a Super Bowl. The other, Bill Walsh, was in his second stint at Stanford after coaching the Cardinal before joining the San Francisco 49ers. 'On the college end, you're right, the players are a little bit younger and less skilled, sometimes that's an advantage — there are fewer bad habits to break," Belichick said. "But I would say also the players are much more receptive to coaching. They haven't had as long with the way they were doing it through college career, maybe even through their pro years where they started develop some habits that they were comfortable with and they were a little harder to change. I'd say our players, they've been very receptive to everything we've asked them to do.' Belichick has brought in numerous coaches with NFL experience for his coaching staff. Steve Belichick coached with him in New England and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens is a longtime NFL assistant who was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2019. The six-time Super Bowl winner also noted that his roster has 70 players who were not on the team in 2024. North Carolina, which opens the season in Week 1 on Labor Day against TCU, brought in the No. 8 transfer portal class in the country according to On3. The Tar Heels had 41 players transfer out after Brown's departure, and 42 arrived, including South Alabama QB Gio Lopez, Troy offensive tackle Daniel King and Boise State linebacker Andrew Simpson.
