The New York Jets have their present at quarterback with Aaron Rodgers, but they are still seeking a quarterback of the future.
Tom Downey of Chat Sports named the green and white as a trade destination for recently benched Indianapolis Colts passer Anthony Richardson.
Richardson, 22, was benched indefinitely by the Colts in favor of former Jets quarterback Joe Flacco.
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter said on social media “Based on history, this looks like the beginning of the end of Anthony Richardson’s time in Indianapolis.”
Richardson Could Be the Eventual Successor at QB for the Jets
The former Florida Gators product was the No. 4 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.
He has at least two and a half years left on his $33 million rookie contract. The Colts, or whatever team he was traded to, would also have a future fifth-year team option they could exercise which would keep him under team control for an additional season.
There are two reasons why the Colts benched Richardson.
The first was because Richardson did an NFL no-no when he tapped out of the game in Week 8 because he was “tired.” A lot of other positions in the NFL can tap the side of their helmet to rotate a different player in but that isn’t something you see with the quarterback position.
The other reason the Colts benched Richardson is because he wasn’t playing well enough.
Richardson completed 44.4% of his passes and had an abysmal four-touchdown to seven-interception ratio in six starts.
Despite some uneven play, Richardson is an intriguing prospect. Coming out of the draft in 2023, Richardson stood in at 6-foot-4 and tipped the scales at 244 pounds. Richardson combines athleticism, size, and speed.
At the NFL Combine, Richardson ran an unbelievable 4.43 40-yard dash at his size. When you pair that with one of the biggest arms in the NFL, it’s easy to understand why the Colts took him with a top-four pick.
Jets Are a Perfect Fit for Richardson
Richardson is a raw player.
He has only made 10 starts in his NFL career to date, and back in college, he only started one season.
Richardson doesn’t have the experience of other players and needs time to develop. He didn’t get that opportunity in college or the pros, but he could get that with the Jets.
The green and white have Rodgers for 2024 and beyond. At the ripe age of 40, he will turn 41 in December. Rodgers is much closer to the end of his football journey than the beginning.
If he was dealt to New York he could reset, sit behind a Hall of Famer, and bide his time until he gets his next opportunity.
Jets analyst Joe Caporoso speculated that Richardson’s trade value could be a future second-rounder and another conditional pick.
Gang Green boasts the oldest quarterback room in football but the only dart throw for the future they have is Jordan Travis. He is an interesting player but he has yet to get healthy and there’s no guarantee what Travis will become at the NFL level.
