Colts’ QB coach Cam Turner discussed the decision that the team made to have Daniel Jones start over Anthony Richardson.
From early on in the offseason, Shane Steichen has said that he was looking for consistency in the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback competition.
When he named Daniel Jones the starter a few days ago, Steichen thought that Jones would best provide that element. That not only takes into account how many passes he completed, but as Steichen described, it was everything.
This included ball placement, checks at the line of scrimmage, protection calls, the overall operation of the offense, and more.
Quarterbacks coach Cam Turner spoke with the media on Wednesday and echoed those same sentiments as Steichen.
“The consistency is a big thing that shows up,” Turner said of Jones via Colts.com. “And just his approach, his operation at the line, consistent accuracy and overall decision-making — he did a good job all throughout camp.”
Jones is about to enter his seventh NFL season and has 69 career starts under his belt at this point. Turner acknowledged that the experience and “time on task” that Jones has had up to this point have helped Jones in this competition.
Turner would say that Richardson made “huge strides” this summer. You could see it in his effectiveness on the short to intermediate throws and in his overall command of the offense. However, Turner also believes there wasn’t enough consistency either.
“As a position coach, you want to see your guys succeed, naturally,” Turner said. “I feel like I’ve tried everything I can do, and I feel like he’s given great effort in that aspect too. I don’t think either way, it’s one or the other. Just right now, the consistency is not where we wanted it to be.”
Richardson is now the backup, with Steichen planning on Jones starting for the entire 2025 season.
As Turner said, the plan for Richardson is for him to “continue to develop.” As the backup, Richardson “still has a job, a role, a responsibility” to execute on.
