The Pittsburgh Steelers Should Trade for Anthony Richardson
The Indianapolis Colts under the command of Head Coach Shane Steichen made the surprising decision to move on from Anthony Richardson as their starting quarterback. Steichen’s decision probably has multiple layers to it, but it mostly feels like a move to save his job, with Daniel Jones giving the team a bit of a higher floor in a big year for this regime. The move is a bit shortsighted, and leaves the former first-rounder’s future uncertain.
While some teams might shy away from a project passer with a limited track record, the Pittsburgh Steelers are uniquely positioned to make a move. Bringing Richardson to Pittsburgh would be a forward-thinking gamble with potentially massive upside.
The Pros
A Stable Environment for Growth
Mike Tomlin isn’t going anywhere. His stability as head coach makes Pittsburgh one of the best landing spots for a young quarterback in need of development. Richardson wouldn’t be thrown into chaos or asked to save a franchise. Instead, he would enter an environment built on consistency, accountability, and patience — the exact kind of atmosphere that has allowed countless Steelers players to reach their potential.
No Pressure to Start Immediately
The Steelers already have their veteran in Aaron Rodgers, who gives them a high-end starter for the next season or two. Behind him, Mason Rudolph provides reliable backup play. Richardson wouldn’t face the burden of carrying the franchise from day one. Instead, he could learn the intricacies of the offense, refine his mechanics, and build chemistry without the bright lights of starting every Sunday. By 2026, he’d be ready to legitimately compete for the job.
An Added Chance to Uncover a Long-Term Solution
Quarterback stability is the most valuable commodity in football. Richardson’s raw tools — size, athleticism, arm strength — remain as tantalizing as when he was drafted. If he develops under Tomlin and the Steelers’ structure, Pittsburgh could secure their quarterback of the future. Adding Richardson doesn’t preclude them from drafting a QB in the 1st Round of the 2026 NFL Draft, giving him a chance to compete with another high-pedigree player and giving the Steelers another chance at landing a Franchise QB.
The Cons
1. Draft Capital
Trading for Richardson won’t come for free. The Steelers would likely need to part with a mid-round draft pick, possibly more if multiple teams show interest. That’s a real cost for a player who may never become a franchise quarterback. The price would, obviously, have to be right.
2. Contract Decisions Looming
The Steelers would need to decide on Richardson’s fifth-year option as early as next offseason, likely before they’ve seen enough of him in real game action. It would be a similar situation to the one they faced last offseason with Justin Fields, and risk losing him like they lost out on Fields this offseason if he were to show something in game action in 2026.
There’s virtually no risk, and the potential reward is too great to ignore. In Pittsburgh, Richardson would get time, stability, and mentorship — the three things he always needed to be a successful NFL QB, and things that Indianapolis and Head Coach Shane Steichen feel they can no longer give him.
The Steelers would get a high-upside swing at solving the quarterback position for the next decade. It’s exactly the type of calculated gamble a stable, well-run franchise like Pittsburgh can afford to make.
I say just no. It’s a waist of money and draft capital. The Steelers need to be ready to trade picks, including their 2027 first round pick, to move up in next years draft and go for one of the young guys coming out. This taking long shots on guys like Fields and Richardson is a waist of resources.
I really don’t believe there is any upside to Anthony Richardson. He has less chance of being a successful QB in the NFL than Justin Fields or Mitch Trubisky. The Colts know that better than anyone. They moved on to Daniel Jones knowing who he is. To top it off it was a surprise to no one that Jones was named the starter.
Any cap space or draft capital lost would be just that, lost.
Hard pass. The entire “pros” section could be referring to Justin Fields who’s a better QB, and he didn’t work out in the same system.
What’s the message to Howard? I’ll argue that Howard has more upside since he can actually put the ball in a pro window, which Richardson can not. Lasty the Steelers are not exactly a QB factory churning out QB after QB, so I do not have faith in them “fixing’ Anthony Richardson at all let alone before needing to give him a second deal.
No. No. No. Says I put all this same effort into Howard, he’s already here.
I trust Jeremy’s draft analysis over almost anyone (Roy Countryman is still my #1 guy), but sometimes players are just a miss. I thought Richardson was a huge overdraft at the time, mainly because he was very inaccurate and lost more games than he won in college, and his time so far in the NFL has appeared to be just that. But guys whose main focus is evaluating players for the draft, they don’t like to give up on things so easily. The Colts made the mistake of investing high capital in Richardson. Others would make a mistake by investing any significant capital to acquire him. I hope the Steelers are not one of them that would.
But this also goes to show how a player taken at the top of the draft, particularly a quarterback, can still be a complete miss. Richardson looked like he had fantastic athletic talent. But inaccuracy should’ve been the biggest red flag of them all. He couldn’t complete 60% of his passes in college. When it comes to quarterbacks who only have one year of success in college, remember that Joe Burrow is the exception, not the rule. It didn’t work for Richardson. It didn’t work for Kenny Pickett. Or Mitch Trubisky And I’m sure there’s a lot of others that could be listed here. The Colts took the L on this one. I don’t want the Steelers to inherit their L while giving up something even moderately significant to acquire him.
I am not saying that this is case in this example, but a lot of evaluators are looking at these players coming out as fantasy football players. They see the combination of running and passing and can’t help themselves. In real games there are no fantasy points. There are only TD’s, FG’s, XP’s and safeties. It doesn’t matter if you pass for 300 yards and run for another 80. Real football is much different than Fantasy Football.
Anthony Richardson is what we thought Lamar would be. Lamar turned out great, which is why Richardson went as early as he did, because they thought he could be Lamar 2.0. I would take a hard pass on him. Super athletic, but just can’t throw the ball well enough. I’d rather use the capital it would take to get him and use it to move up next year. I like the creativity of this, but just not something I’d be willing to risk.
Justin field is not a prove that these mobile quarterbacks with throwing issues are not going to be developed in Pittsburgh?
I don’t buy it. Until the coaching staff shows that they really can develop a QB, I would not spend a capital draft just to see the same movie again.
Hope first round QB next year can find a healthy environment and patience to be developed and the coaching staff change the approach they made with Kenny picket for example
I can’t take a QB who taps out seriously and I don’t care if it was “just one time”. That stuff sticks to you like glue. He’s also a bit injury prone, which is a deterrent. Not to mention the two major cons listed.
And while I bleed black and gold, I don’t fully trust QB development, especially now that we’re so close to the regular season. It’s a lose lose in the end in my opinion.