Quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. has reported to the Colts facility, a league source confirmed to IndyStar on Monday, after he spent the first two weeks of voluntary offseason workouts away from the team.
Veteran cornerback Kenny Moore II remains away from the team, the league source said.
Both players missed Phase One of the team’s voluntary offseason workouts – which is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning work and physical rehab – but Richardson arrives at the start of Phase Two, which notably consists of on-field workouts that can include individual and group instruction and drills, as well as walk-through-type work.
Richardson’s arrival could mark the start of an interesting competition for the Colts’ backup quarterback role for 2026 between the former fourth-overall pick and Riley Leonard, the Colts’ sixth-round pick from 2025 who made a single start as a rookie, as the team monitors starter Daniel Jones’ progress of rehabbing his torn Achilles tendon.
Last summer, Richardson battled Jones for the starting job in training camp after logging 15 starts over the first two years of his career. Richardson went 8-7 in Years 1 and 2 in the midst of a series of injuries and a two-game benching for tapping out mid-game against the Texans in 2024. The former Florida standout began 2025 as the Colts’ backup, but he suffered a fractured orbital bone in a freak pre-game accident in mid-October that required surgery, landing Richardson on IR for the remainder of the season.
In the closing weeks of the year, the Colts did activate the 23-year-old’s 21-day window to return to the 53-man roster, but Richardson continued to have vision limitations that impacted his ability to field snaps and clearly see and identify objects within a one-foot radius of his body. At the NFL Combine in February, Colts general manager Chris Ballard told reporters that Richardson had been “cleared to play football” but has since noted that his backup quarterback “is still recovering a bit” in reference to Richardson’s vision.
“I see a future (for Richardson in the NFL),” the Colts GM said in Feburary. “Anthony’s still young. He’s still developing, so we’ll see what the future holds. I still believe in Anthony.
“He’s positive. He wants to do the right thing, and he’s trending in the right direction. He’s still got a ways to go, but his eye is getting better. We’ll just work from there.”
Days after those remarks from Ballard, Richardson requested permission to seek a trade, which the Colts granted, though the sides have been unable to find a suitable partner. In recent weeks, several seemingly viable trade candidates who could be seen as proper fits — including the Vikings, Packers, Rams and Steelers — have all signed one or more rotational options at quarterback, making it tougher to envision a new home for Richardson materializing.
Indianapolis, importantly, is not incentivized to release Richardson, who is set to count $10.8 million against the Colts’ cap this upcoming season — roughly split 50-50 by the young quarterback’s pro-rated signing bonus that has already been paid (and which would count against the team’s cap regardless of a trade) and his fully-guaranteed salary in Year 4 of his deal.
“There’s definitely a scenario,” Ballard told reporters in March during the NFL Owners’ Meeting in Phoenix, when asked about the prospects of the Colts riding out Richardson’s contract to its completion. “He’s too talented. He’s a good dude, and he’s talented. I still want good for Anthony, man. I think he’s got a lot in him. He’s had some bad luck.”
On Friday, the Indianapolis opted not to pick up the fifth-year option on the quarterback’s rookie contract, meaning Richardson will be a free agent after this season.
The Colts begin formal OTA offseason workouts the last week of May; the quarterback snap count distributions will say more about the Colts’ depth chart. But Indianapolis brass has not eliminated the prospect that Jones could be available to take live snaps during OTAs — the starting quarterback having already begun dropping back and throwing in recent weeks.
Since the end of the season, following Leonard’s three-touchdown performance in his first-career start, Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen have lauded the second-year quarterback’s development. It’s not immediately clear that Richardson would slide back into the No. 2 spot behind a soon-to-be-healthy Jones.
All along the way, Ballard has applauded Richardson for his professionalism and team-first dedication, shown in the fact he’s turned up for voluntary workouts in an environment that has so starkly shifted over the past 15 months.
“Here’s the one thing that’s been fun to watch with Anthony in the last year. He’s a great teammate. He’s a good guy, a good person. He cares about the team, and that’s important to him,” Ballard said last month. “If he was salty, then we’re talking about a different story here.”
Moore, who has played all nine of his NFL seasons in Indianapolis, requested a trade nearly a month ago – a move Ballard told reporters was centered around the 30-year-old being “ready for a change.” The Colts were unable to trade Moore during the draft. While indicating it would be unlikely for the Colts to move on from Richardson without a trade, Ballard indicated last month he may be more flexible with Moore’s request to move on.
“I think very highly of Kenny — not only personally, but organizationally — and I know the city feels the same way,” the Colts GM said of Moore, who has been named the team’s Walter Payton May of the Year Award nominee three times in recent years. “But at the end of the day, after talking to him, he felt it was time for a change. There’s nothing much more to it than that, and because of our respect level for Kenny, we said, ‘OK’.
“It’s not always easy when you have a guy who’s been a pillar not only on our team but in the community. I think most of you know my relationship with him, and it’s close, and so those are not always easy conversations, but they’re respectful, and we’ll see how it works out.”
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Anthony Richardson reports to Colts, Kenny Moore remains away from team
Reporting by Nathan Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
