Bleacher Report analyst Brent Sobleski has identified trading Anthony Richardson as the top offseason priority for the Indianapolis Colts – and a separate proposal now places the former No. 4 overall pick directly in Dallas Cowboys discussions as a backup behind Dak Prescott. The Cowboys currently list Joe Milton and Sam Howell as their depth options at quarterback – a combination that inspires zero confidence. This is not a depth chart curiosity. This is a real roster vulnerability on a team paying its starter $60 million per year.
Sobleski Speaks On Richardson Trade News
Richardson formally requested a trade in February 2026, and the Colts granted permission to seek one – a mutual split framed around a shared acknowledgment that the marriage is over. He is in the final season of his four-year, $33.99 million rookie deal, carrying a $5.38 million cap figure for 2026. Sobleski at Bleacher Report wrote that “the front office also knows Richardson isn’t the team’s quarterback of the future and should be dealt for whatever it can get.”
What is not confirmed: any active Cowboys interest in Richardson specifically. The trade proposal originates from Heavy writer Max Dible, not from reporting on internal Dallas front-office discussions. Treat the Cowboys angle as a logical pitch, not a sourced negotiation.
Richardson’s Colts Career: A Three-Season Collapse
Richardson has started just 15 games across three NFL seasons, completing roughly 50.6% of his passes for 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, while adding 635 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns on the ground. The dual-threat upside is real. The accuracy and reliability are not. His 2025 season ended early after he fractured his orbital bone in pre-game warmups – but the defining moment of his career arrived before that injury.
In Week 7 against the Houston Texans, with his team trailing and facing a 3rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Richardson removed himself from the game while healthy – citing fatigue. The Colts lost 23-20. ESPN host and former Colts punter Pat McAfee wrote publicly that he had “never seen an NFL QB tap out while still being healthy” and called the message “loud and influential.” Colts head coach Shane Steichen subsequently benched Richardson in favor of veteran Joe Flacco.
The Cowboys’ Backup QB Problem Is Real
Prescott carries a documented injury history – and the Cowboys have repeatedly failed to build legitimate depth behind him. Jerry Jones sent a fifth-round pick for Milton and a fourth-rounder to the 49ers for Trey Lance, which produced nothing. Dible at Heavy argued the third attempt – at a third-round pick for Richardson – “could prove the charm,” given the physical tools a 6-foot-4, 244-pound dual-threat brings to a change-of-pace role. Teams continue exploring unconventional quarterback acquisition routes beyond traditional draft windows, and a Day 4 pick for a former top-five selection represents a calculated gamble worth examining.
The Cowboys already refused to extend Micah Parsons at market value. Spending $5.38 million on a high-upside developmental backup – one year, no long-term commitment – fits a roster-building philosophy that prioritizes flexibility. The risk is behavioral, not physical. A quarterback who self-exits in a goal-line situation is a locker-room variable that no coaching staff fully eliminates.
Trade Makes Sense For Dallas, Just
This is not a Richardson-as-savior argument. This is a low-cost swing at a player whose talent still outpaces his market value. The Colts need to move him before an August roster bonus deadline sharpens the decision – which gives Dallas genuine leverage on acquisition cost. The league-wide conversation around quarterback depth and evaluation keeps evolving, and teams that solve backup QB cheaply gain real structural advantages when starters miss time.
The fatigue-tap incident will follow Richardson into every negotiation. But for a team paying $60 million for its starter and currently rostering Milton as the emergency plan, the calculus tilts toward taking the swing. A Day 4 pick for a former top-five talent is a bet worth making – with eyes open on the risk.
