Updated Feb. 26, 2026, 2:39 p.m. ET
Former Florida football quarterback Anthony Richardson will get a fresh start with a new NFL team this upcoming season.
The Indianapolis Colts and Richadson have mutually agreed to seek a trade, according to a report from Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.
Richardson was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Colts after declaring for the NFL Draft following his redshirt sophomore season with the Florida Gators.
Injuries and inconsistency have plagued the 6-foot-4, 244-pound Richardson throughout his NFL career. In 17 games over three seasons with the Colts, Richardson passed for 2,400 yards with 11 TDs to 13 interceptions. He lost the competition for the starting quarterback job to Daniel Jones in training camp before the start of the 2025 season, then suffered an orbital bone fracture in a freak accident with a resistance band while exercising last October, ending his 2025 season.
A former Gainesville/Eastside High standout, Richardson stayed close to home to play at UF after being recruited by former coach Dan Mullen. After appearing in 12 games in two seasons under Mullen from 2020-21, Richardson started all 12 regular season games for UF in 2022 in Billy Napier’s first season as UF’s coach, passing for 2,549 yards and 17 TDs while rushing for 652 yards and 9 TDs. Twice that season, Richardson passed for 400 or more yards, including at Vanderbilt (400 yards) and at Tennessee (453 yards).
Richardson turns 24 in May and a change of scenery could serve as a benefit after failing to live up to lofty draft status in Indianapolis. Sam Darnold, who was drafted third overall by the New York Jets in the 2018 draft before his 21st birthday, bounced from the Jets to the Carolina Panthers to the San Francisco 49ers to the Minnesota Vikings before winning a Super Bowl as the starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
