Some members of the NFL group beforehand questioned if the Indianapolis Colts would think about taking a flier on Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders by way of the 14th choose of the 2025 draft.
The membership signed former New York Giants starter Daniel Jones to compete with 2023 first-round draft choose Anthony Richardson for the beginning job this summer time.
Whereas talking with reporters on Monday, Colts common supervisor Chris Ballard indicated he’s open to grabbing a quarterback as early as the primary spherical of the player-selection course of on Thursday evening.
“You don’t ever need to go up a participant you suppose has an opportunity to be actually good,” Ballard defined, as shared by Myles Simmons of Professional Soccer Speak. “I believe you say that for each place, however particularly at quarterback.”
Ballard added he “completely” might take a quarterback at choose No. 14 “if there’s a participant we deem is worthy of it.”
For an article printed on April 16, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports activities Illustrated revealed he believes Jones might be Indianapolis’ 2025 Week 1 starter, partially as a result of “there’ll be a pure curiosity about what Jones can do with the workforce Chris Ballard and (head coach) Shane Steichen have assembled.” That mentioned, Jones’ harm historical past coupled with how his Giants tenure ended this previous fall suggests he will not be a long-term reply for the Colts.
In the meantime, accidents have restricted Richardson to only 15 begins over a doable 32 profession contests (minus a two-game benching this previous November following the “drained” controversy). Breer famous that Richardson merely “hasn’t accomplished almost sufficient with the possibilities he’s been given” for the reason that spring of 2023 to be thought-about the favourite to win the upcoming competitors for the QB1 gig.
“The one factor you may see with the quarterback place now, you higher get to know them within the draft course of since you by no means know when it’s going to come back again to you,” Ballard mentioned on Monday. “That’s the one factor, I all the time sort of giggle when a quarterback turns us down, like, ‘No, we’re not going to go to with you.’ Three years from now, we’ll see how that performs out — since you simply have a look at it. The altering of groups now, the dearth of persistence, guys are… And everyone’s developmental curve and journey is totally different. So that you by no means know when it’s going to come back again round to you.”
The beforehand talked about Sanders is presently anticipated to fall to not less than the New Orleans Saints on the ninth choose of the draft. ESPN’s Jordan Reid believes New Orleans will take Sanders, whereas Adam Schefter of ESPN reported on Monday that “there’s a perception across the league that the Saints are extra serious about utilizing a excessive choose on an offensive or defensive lineman.”
Within the occasion that the Saints go on Sanders, it is doubtless he’d be out there for the Colts at choose No. 14 until a workforce leapfrogs Indianapolis within the draft order for the polarizing prospect.
“We bought two guys which have had some actually sturdy flashes they usually’ve had some unhealthy moments too,” Ballard mentioned about Jones and Richardson on Monday, per Josh Alper of Professional Soccer Speak. “That’s OK. I believe each of them might be higher due to this, and I believe the workforce might be higher due to it. …If I’m a betting man, in some unspecified time in the future each of them will assist us.”
Maybe the 2025 Colts may even get assist from a 3rd quarterback chosen by the membership on Thursday.
