Colt.45

100% this. The next great receiving back who springs up, whether Bijan or even our own Evan Hull needs to start shifting the battle back to the Leveon story i.e. we should get paid as great backs plus a little something on top for our receiving abilities, and if they can block too? They'd better add that to contract talks. That's how they need to approach this. They cant get too greedy though...shift the story first, then the next set of guys need to shift the story to how they help the Line out. If the Zoom backs want to shift the story and get backs paid again, they need to be strategic about it. JT is also holding a losing hand there...he's a great runner but he's no Leveon Bell catching, and his blocking is terrible compared to Edge or Addai or Dom so the back the group should have picked should have been someone like Ekeler but he dipped and took his money when he had the chance.

JT has had one elite season. The other two have been teasers for multiple reasons that are not all on him. He has HoF potential....that's just it though, potential. So, the ol fella has to curate his brand and this is JT doing JT, this isnt some empty head, this is a smart, thoughtful fella, he cut agents to get this money. He's made his point and I think the larger story is what he and other backs want to force the NFL to acknowledge or act on, the problem is they've got zero leverage. None. This battle was lost when that dazzling Steeler back, LeVeon Bell couldn't get paid. In retrospect, Bell should have taken that money and reshaped the way RB contracts were thought of and crafted in future, instead it got acrimonious and he ultimately lost out which is what Jim Irsay tried ineloquently to point out in that 'airhead moment' tweet, everyone loses in the NFL, the machine goes on. If Bell who at his prime was everything JT is PLUS an ELITE receiving back, couldn't win, JT certainly hasn't got a prayer. It's a business, JT has a losing hand sadly. Philosophically, that culture guru the Colts had back in the day, the special units guy whose name escapes me, well he didn't seem to have nailed this. The good boys - JT, Moore, Pitt, Shaq, etc are all smart guys and really good team players, the thing his methodology didnt seem to account for is that smart guys also understand this business and will get theirs as best as they can. Fans need to know this

Justin Herbert is excellent. He's not Pat Mahomes but who is? He's certainly in that next tier with Allen, Burrow, Jalen, Lawrence, maybe ARod. Good to see Richardson struggle. The fire in him will allow him learn a lot from these bad days, and there'll probably be quite a few lessons like this ahead this season. How he ends the season, and how he goes into the next offseason is the real key. For this TC, I'm just loving seeing his personality come to fore. Leadership, community building, learning the mental side of being a pro - both in game and out of it, how he manipulates the media. Those things are what he should work on this year, the other side will come....too many of his teammates have said it, too many people who know the NFL game on the inside level are saying it, and by IT, i mean they're talking of him the way you heard folks talk of Luck and how they talk of Mahomes i.e. in almost superhero terms....the kid just needs to keep working and stay healthy. The OFF days are gems for him this year. Even Bryce has had some off moments. CJ Stroud has certainly had his share.

It's well within the realm of possibility.

Lets see how Reich does in Carolina, I suspect he'll make threads like this a moot point moving forward

Here's to a speedy and full recovery for him. Team probably had big ST expectations for him, as well as that safety depth

When last did the NFL undergo an evolution in your eyes?

Thanks for the detailed response. Are you an NBA fan or casual follower? If so, what're your thoughts on whether it's evolved and what you feel about perceived evolutions.

What is the 'normal' NFL QB? The better offense is the one that scores more points. Sometimes folks forget this.

Media availability is on Thursday so the first few days are going to be hard to get news on.

Irsay loves to connect with the fans and it's great.....I'm struggling to see the value of partaking in an action like this though... Gotta know when to hold em, when to fold em....etc. My single big issue with Jim Irsay, he doesnt know when to lock it up

It's not at all hard to see why they picked him at 4, and why I think they would have really considered him at 1 if they had that pick. He's raw in terms of snaps and experience but the physical tools and apparently the mental acuity means the Colts are getting a clean slate. Shane Steichen gets to mold this into whatever he wants, and evolve this talent into the future of NFL quarterbacking. It's no easy feat but the humility, work ethic, and intangibles all seem to be there. Give him reps, let him earn his lumps and gain experience. The NFL could be in serious trouble.

Love seeing Edge involved.

I dont think AR has a Z.Wilson or Josh Rosen type season but it's worth considering how bad he'd have to be for the Colts to turn their eyes toward those two QBs. We'll likely be bad enough to get Marvin II so maybe 4 or 5 wins?

They're not going to go in NOT trying to win games. That's not what I am saying. What I'm saying is they'd love to win games and make the playoffs but they understand that isnt likely to happen and their young QB will take lumps and needs to grow. Several people (CB and Irsay i believe) have already said the rookie year is hard and even Peyton struggled. When you consider all that, why would anyone think the Colts would prefer having Minshew lead them to a 10-7 playoff appearance instead of having a season where AR goes 3-14 but shows steady growth. It's almost as if the whole post-Luck ordeal didnt happen at all. The priority is Anthony Richardson. Sure, the coaches will coach hard, and the players will play hard (no such thing as tanking), and everyone wants to win. Sure. However, lets also remember the big pic. Andrew Luck was the anomaly by far. Rookie QBs dont tend to do what Luck did

Unless Minshew turns into Patrick Mahomes, there's no chance anyone at the Colts is thinking that's the way. The development of their future QB is priority #1. Everything they've said points to that not winning games, it isnt something fans should consider either. Go into the season expecting to see a 3 or 4 win season. This is all about developing the young guys especially the franchise future Anthony Richardson

Yup. The Colts are attempting something ambitious but the payoff could be magical. Luck's frosh season at Stanford, he was a 56% passer who rushed for 300something yards. The Colts have made a huge traits bet here but for where AR is at in development (based off snaps), the biggest trait they've bet on isnt athleticism or arm power or even pocket presence, it's the young man's work ethic and desire. They're betting that with all the natural tools he has, if he works hard and their character estimation is correct, there's no way he doesn't make the leap. We'll see. The NFL is tough even for guys like Luck and Manning. Growth and work ethic are the big keys here. The odds of success are not sky high but I'm betting against history and such, i think he's going to be a star

Cam Newton's career has become one where folks forget what a dominant QB he was. Some of his issues never got fixed but he was a legit franchise QB. Not Peyton or Brees or Brady but plenty effective.

That's why I made the Lebron comp. If folks are saying Bryce is Curry then AR is Bron. Simply from the angle that AR is effectively making the leap from high school to the pros based off the amount of snaps he's played.

The Colts only job this season is growing the young QB. The playoffs shouldn't even be considered at all. Game by game, week by week, quarter by quarter, snap by snap growth. That's it.

It feels like the bet CB and the Colts made is that this 20year old is effectively in his sophomore year of college development and the 54% completion avg from freshman year isn't a total demerit. It's a bit odd of course that they're hoping to fill that college jump a lot of these guys make in sophomore year of college except in this case, it is happening in the pros. I agree with you, he needs reps. It depends on what they see in camp, and how far along he is. The Colts expect to lose games so might as well play the kid and let him gain reps and get that mental fortification built. He wants to be a pocket passer and has better pocket presence at this stage of his development than many other QBs. I think this kid is going to be super, we'll see.

Michael Jordan isnt the right theoretical upside comp. It's more Lebron James.

Oh it's a risk but they all are. Bryce Young is tiny. CJ Stroud turns into an unpalatable version of Jared Goff when the heat comes (and it will). Richardson's lack of experience and some poor technical pieces to his game are his issue. They all have issues. We've had QBs in Indy who were well under 65% in comp percentage...they were fine. I'm not too worried about his numbers, they are what they are. I don't think they tell anything close to the full story on this particular player....just like Young's size doesnt indicate his NFL future.

All of this. His pocket movement, the calm and poise, the eye movement, the manipulation. He's played 13 games and does things naturally that some players in the NFL struggle with. He lacks the polish others have but it's all a matter of amplifying strengths and hiding weaknesses till they become strengths. It's what happened with Hurts, it's what happened with Allen. Is it risky? Of course! If the young man busts, Ballard is gone alongside Steichen but if you're taking a risk then a high upside risk is not a bad one to take considering they had the top 3 QBs pretty close. Hope Richardson is Michael Jordan to Bryce Young's Steph Curry.

@NFLfan! Thanks! It's been a minute. I've missed the forum. I switched off emotionally. Last season was a lot to handle, and football which is supposed to be a sweet release from life's troubles became an unhealthy burden of its own. I lost faith in the owner, the GM, some players, and I was definitely over the presence of the ex-center. None of us can predict the future but I knew I'd be back in the fold if the Colts got one of Stroud, Young or Richardson. To me, the difference is negligible. All different styles that can have success under the right ecosystem. Richardson's ceiling is limitless unlike Stroud or Bryce. Didn't get to go yesterday but I'll be there today and tomorrow. Kansas City is an incredible place to be right now.