No one thought the Steelers would ever give up on Kenny Pickett as quickly as they did, yet he was traded out of Pittsburgh last offseason. No one expected Russell Wilson to sign with the black and gold in free agency for the vet minimum, yet he did. Very few thought the Steelers would add Justin Fields in a trade while giving up little value, yet they found a way to accomplish all three.
With the Indianapolis Colts benching Anthony Richardson this season, he will be a hot topic in trade rumors. Something seems suspect with the Colts as they will start veteran Joe Flacco for what seems like the rest of the schedule. Perhaps they will turn back to Richardson, but each week he sits will only torch the flames of a potential trade out of Indianapolis.
On the surface, his fit with Pittsburgh might not seem as easy to envision as others. Many probably thought the same when Fields was acquired after Wilson just signed with the Steelers days earlier. Richardson could be an interesting trade target for the black and gold if they can trade for him at a discounted rate. He might not be as polished as Fields, but he has a ton of potential going forward.
Richardson is the former fourth overall pick of the Colts in the 2023 NFL Draft. It would be amazing if they were this quick to give up on him, especially since injuries have hampered some of his opportunities to show he is their future franchise quarterback. He is now on the bench, and it seems like it could be the beginning of the end as teams have shown less patience with quarterbacks in recent history.
Pittsburgh has not been afraid to add quarterbacks in recent years, and they have been more aggressive in scouting the bunch. They might not have spent plenty of time watching Richardson closely when he was coming out of college, but they did look at some players at the position during the pre-draft process. Richardson was out of their reach then, but it might be different now.
With how Fields currently has his situation, it might be best if the black and gold can find something similar next season. Russell Wilson looks like he will stick around as the starter, but Fields coming back next year seems unlikely unless his market in free agency is tiny. Having a project quarterback who can learn and develop behind a guy like Wilson would be a tremendous setup.
Richardson is not a great starting quarterback at the moment, and turnovers have been a big problem for him. There are some similarities between Richardson and Fields in terms of their styles of play. If the Colts continue to slump and are in a position to take another quarterback high in the upcoming draft, then the Steelers should show trade interest. Having a developmental guy behind Wilson would be great.
