The Indianapolis Colts do not need another quarterback experiment. They need a backup who can actually play if Daniel Jones cannot, and a developmental piece who is not already buried in this building.
A late-August swap with Minnesota that puts Anthony Richardson at the center of Indianapolis’ offer for J.J. McCarthy is the cleanest way to get both.
Zachary Rotman of FanSided laid out that package as roster cuts close: Indianapolis would send Richardson as the headline piece to Minnesota and take McCarthy, a former top-10 pick, in return, with a modest pick moving to even out remaining contract years. Richardson has one season left on his rookie deal; McCarthy has two.
That math is why Rotman framed the Vikings as the side adding a slightly better selection rather than the Colts emptying the draft board for a player Minnesota may otherwise cut.
From a Colts standpoint, the logic is blunt. Richardson requested a trade in February, the fifth-year option is already declined, and he is competing with Riley Leonard for snaps behind Jones. Keeping a former No. 4 pick as a third-stringer after three uneven seasons is organizational inertia, not a plan.
McCarthy is not a finished product — 10 starts, more interceptions than touchdowns in 2025, a minor ankle issue this preseason — but he is 23, still on a cheap rookie contract, and has never had a full, healthy runway in one system.
Shane Steichen’s offense asks for timing and intermediate accuracy more than the raw dual-threat flashes that defined Richardson’s scouting report. McCarthy at least lives in that passing-game world.
The insurance argument matters more than the upside argument. Jones is coming off an Achilles tear. Indianapolis already lived through the nightmare of 2025, when injuries forced a 43-year-old Philip Rivers out of retirement.
A McCarthy-Leonard tandem behind Jones is still imperfect, but it is younger and cheaper than carrying a disgruntled former first-rounder whose market has been soft all spring. If McCarthy never becomes more than a capable backup, the Colts did not surrender a first-rounder to find that out. They moved a player who wanted out.
Minnesota’s incentive is the same coin flipped: Kevin O’Connell has rebuilt quarterbacks before, and Richardson’s tools still photograph well. That is Minnesota’s problem.
Indianapolis’ problem is the 53-man clock. A Richardson-centered package for McCarthy does not fix the Colts overnight.
It does close a chapter that has already cost this franchise three years and a top-five pick, and it puts a different kind of young quarterback in the building before the regular season starts. That is a Colts trade worth making.
