Despite an offer from the Minnesota Vikings this past March, former New York Giants and Vikings quarterback, Daniel Jones, decided to sign with the Indianapolis Colts on a one year deal to act as the backup to struggling ex 4th overall pick, Anthony Richardson.
![Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback, Daniel Jones, before a game against the Seattle Seahawks. December 22, 2024]()
Richardson has had issues both with his play on the field and indeed staying on that said field. The former Florida Gator spent the majority of his rookie year on the sidelines after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
Whilst year two was certainly healthier, it was not a whole lot better. Richardson completed just 47.7% of his passes in 2024, easily the lowest of any quarterback in the NFL, en route to getting benched for large chunks of the year for veteran Joe Flacco.
Anthony Richardson Faces Yet Another Setback Prior To Mandatory Minicamp
And now it looks like the woes will continue on for the former Florida athletic freak, who will be sidelined for mandatory minicamp, which is set to start next week.
Although head coach, Shane Steichen said on Thursday that a ‘procedure’ for the injury is not in the mix right now, he declined to give a timeline for the current QB1 to return.
“Doctors, trainers checked it out,” Steichen responded, when asked about Richardson’s injury, “He’s got some aggravation in his AC joint. So we’re gonna sit him out this week. Obviously, he’ll sit out for minicamp. We’ll see when he comes back. Not gonna put a timetable for training camp on it, but when he does come back, we’ll ease him into throwing, and then we’ll go from there. The good thing is he’s not gonna need a procedure right now.”
Could Daniel Jones Be In The Mix To Start With Richardson Sidelined?
Hopefully this injury does not leave Richardson out for a significant amount of time, but given it is the same injury the strong-armed suffered back in fall 2023, we could see Jones get some very real playing time at some point during the 2025 season.
After the Giants decided to cut their losses on a 4 year, $160 million deal they gave to Jones in March 2023 late in 2024, the Vikings picked up the former sixth overall pick. And they were apparently impressed enough to give him a similar offer to the one with which he was ultimately lured to the Colts by.
Understandably, Jones saw a clearer path to the starting job in Indianapolis given Richardson’s issues with health and form.
And the bookmakers mirror this view, particularly in light of his newest injury. The odds for Anthony Richardson to be the Week 1 starter jumped from -275 (73% implied probability) earlier in the offseason, to -150 (60%) after this latest news, leaving Jones with around a 40% chance of being the starter come the beginning of the regular season in September.
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